Design and development of soft X-ray diagnostics based on GEM detectors at IPPLM

The search for new technologies in the field of plasma diagnostics entails the increasing demands on the radiative stability of the used materials due to development and usage of fusion facilities, where the study of processes occurring during the interaction of radiation with matter has become particularly important. This problem also applies to diagnostic components whose materials are exposed to thermonuclear fusion products. Currently, a new X-ray imaging detection technology is required for tokamaks such as ITER. X-ray detectors that are being used in existing equipment may rapidly degrade due to large neutron fluxes characteristic for the tokamak environment, as observed during fusion tests on the TFTR equipment in the USA during the experimental campaign on deuterium-tritium mixture.
Despite the relatively wide use of semiconductor detectors to record SXR radiation (generally ionising radiation), gas detectors are promising candidates that are suited much better for use in future fusion reactors given their resistance to neutron radiation. Several new gas detectors, that are commonly called MicroPattern Gaseous Detectors (MPGDs), have been proposed and developed in this field. The most promising representative of this class is the detector called Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM), which is characterized by high amplification factor of the primary charge that is originated from photon absorption. As a result, the interest in GEM-based detectors is growing steadily, and the possible use of GEM detectors now goes beyond the area of high energy physics. The main advantages of GEM technology are the compactness of the detector, good temporal and spatial resolutions, the ability to discriminate against photon energy and better neutron resistance compared to existing systems. All this makes such a detection system a potentially better candidate for soft X-ray measurements in the ITER and DEMO reactors.
In this work, a new type of detection system based on GEM technology was proposed for soft X-ray measurements in the ITER reactor-oriented research, which had been developing at IPPLM. The status and progress of the research will be presented.