Diagnostics Development for Steady State Operation of the Stellarator Wendelstein 7-X

The gain in experience with long-pulse operation under fusion relevant plasma conditions is an important step towards successful sustainment of future steady state reactor plasmas. The stellarator Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) [1], presently being under construction, is already equipped with a superconducting coil system and principally capable of quasi-continuous operation. Like other long pulse devices, W7-X is faced with new enhanced technical requirements which have to be met by plasma facing components as well as the diagnostic systems in general. Water-cooled windows were qualified up to 60 kW/m(2) thermal load, and shutters against evaporation of sensitive elements outside the attended time of the diagnostic as well as for baseline control had been developed. Shielding of in-vessel components against damage by absorption of microwave stray radiation originating from the heating systems appears to be one of the most challenging tasks. Experiments using a microwave test chamber identify critical materials and approved the necessity for careful shielding of both, sensitive diagnostics and cables. Spectroscopic systems for monitoring the impurity content and divertor load as well as for robust density measurement are presented. (c) 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinhei