Technical innovations for ITER Edge Thomson scattering measurement system

Abstract The in-vessel components for the edge Thomson scattering measurement system in ITER (ETS) will be exposed to high thermal and electromagnetic loads, however, their maintenance will be limited because the ITER radiological environment will not allow operators to align the optics near the vacuum vessel. This paper summarizes the development of components, in particular, the beam combiner so as to minimize neutron streaming through the port plug penetrations used for las er beam injection and the strengthening of the beam dump so it can withstand harsh thermal and mechanical loads. Furthermore, a method to align the collection optics field of view was proposed and verified by ray-tracing simulation. The resolution and accuracy of which were approximately 0.5 mm and 0.1 mm, respectively. These values were much finer than the expected characteristic length of electron temperature and density gradients in the edge plasma of ITER.