Electron cyclotron emission measurements on JET : Michelson interferometer, new absolute calibration, and determination of electron temperature

At the fusion experiment JET, a Michelson interferometer is used to measure the spectrum of the electron cyclotron emission in the spectral range 70-500 GHz. The interferometer is absolutely calibrated using the hot/cold technique and, in consequence, the spatial profile of the plasma electron temperature is determined from the measurements. The current state of the interferometer hardware, the calibration setup, and the analysis technique for calibration and plasma operation are described. A new, full-system, absolute calibration employing continuous data acquisition has been performed recently and the calibration method and results are presented. The noise level in the measurement is very low and as a result the electron cyclotron emission spectrum and thus the spatial profile of the electron temperature are determined to within +/- 5% and in the most relevant region to within +/- 2%. The new calibration shows that the absolute response of the system has decreased by about 15% compared to that measured previously and possible reasons for this change are presented. Temperature profiles measured with the Michelson interferometer are compared with profiles measured independently using Thomson scattering diagnostics, which have also been recently refurbished and recalibrated, and agreement within experimental uncertainties is obtained. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4768246]QC 20220509