Neutron-imaging technique for monitoring high-temperature plasma dynamics

A preliminary design for the adaptation of a pinhole experiment (PINEX) technique to the monitoring of the dynamics of high-temperature plasmas is described. Specifically, this imaging technique uses a thick aperture, an efficient radiation converter, and highly intensified television cameras to provide real-time viewing of radiation sources, such as the neutron emissions from d-d and d-t fusion reactions in controlled thermonuclear research devices. The neutron emission strengths,R 510¹⁵ n/sec, recently achieved at the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) and the Joint European Torus (JET) should be sufficient for 3 to 6-cm spatial resolution and 10 to 100-msec time resolution using such a system. Such information should be useful for on-line optimization of the plasma and for quantitative evaluation of its performance.