Edge thomson scattering on RFX-mod

Electron temperature and density profiles of the RFX-mod experiment are characterized by edge gradients typically steeper than the flatter central region. The main Thomson scattering (TS) diagnostic which measures 84-point profiles along a diameter is mainly devoted to cover the core region. A second TS system has been developed to measure 12-point profiles in the external region 0.8 < r/a < 1, with a spatial resolution of 1 cm. It uses a single shot ruby laser. Input and collection optics share the same vacuum port and they are mounted on one optical bench, which allows offline aligning the system before connecting it to the vessel. The scattered signal is collected by a row of 12 fibers, while 4 fibers on the sides are used to check the alignment and measure the plasma light. The fibers, arranged in a 4 x 4 pattern, are fed into a four channel filter spectrometer and the spectrum is detected by a GaAs intensified charge-coupled device camera. The filters are arranged in a zigzag geometry, such that only one detector is needed. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.