Scintillator-based diagnostic for fast ion loss measurements on DIII-D

Abstract

A new scintillator-based fast ion loss detector has been installed on DIII-D with the time response 100 kHz needed to study energetic ion losses induced by Alfvén eigenmodes and other MHD instabilities. Based on the design used on ASDEX Upgrade, the diagnostic measures the pitch angle and gyroradius of ion losses based on the position of the ions striking the two-dimensional scintillator. For fast time response measurements, a beam splitter and fiberoptics couple a portion of the scintillator light to a photomultiplier. Reverse orbit following techniques trace the lost ions to their possible origin within the plasma. Initial DIII-D results showing prompt losses and energetic ion loss due to MHD instabilities are discussed. © 2010 American Institute of Physics.