Speaker
Description
Accurate measurement of core ion dynamics is essential for understanding and controlling plasma behaviour in reactor-scale devices. We present recent progress in optimising a Collective Thomson Scattering (CTS) system for the European DEMO, with a focus on maximising diagnostic sensitivity to toroidal plasma rotation, ion temperature, and fusion-born alpha particle density. Building on findings from previous studies Rasmussen et al. (2024), Korsholm et al. (2024), we explore the impact of the scattering geometry, probe frequency, and receiver configuration on measurement performance, supported by synthetic diagnostic studies based on the recent DEMO low-aspect ratio (LAR) scenario. Our results indicate that achieving reliable core measurements will likely require probe frequencies slightly below the previously assumed 60 GHz, due to the reduced magnetic field in DEMO LAR. We highlight other key trade-offs and design considerations for achieving accurate, core-localised ion measurements in the challenging DEMO environment.
