Dual-pass upgrade to the Thomson scattering diagnostic on the Prototype-Material Plasma Exposure eXperiment (Proto-MPEX)

The Thomson scattering (TS) diagnostic on the Prototype-Material Plasma Exposure eXperiment has been upgraded to measure electron temperature (T_e) and density (n_e) simultaneously at two axial locations. After the first pass through the vacuum vessel, the exiting laser beamline is re-collimated in the atmosphere and rerouted into the vacuum vessel for the second pass. The upgrade will help diagnose axial T_e and n_e gradients between the “central chamber” and the target region which are located 1 m and 2.5 m, respectively, downstream from the Helicon radio-frequency source. The TS measurements have given T_e ≈ 4-15 eV and n_e ≈ 2-4 × 10¹⁹ m⁻³ at the central chamber and T_e ≈ 1-2 eV and n_e ≈ 1-2 × 10¹⁹ m⁻³ at the target region. The upgrade also increases the number of sampling points at the target region from 3 fibers to 5 fibers, measuring 3 cm radially across the plasma column, and 25 fibers in the central chamber, radially spanning 8 cm. The intensified CCD camera is double triggered for each laser pulse in order to measure (1) the TS and laser stray light and (2) the plasma background light that contains nuisance emission lines and bremsstrahlung. Subtracting the background light from the TS photons improves the temperature and density measurements. Details of the diagnostic setup, axial and radial measurements, and areas for further optimization are discussed.