Thomson Scattering Technique –Measuring the Plasma Wave

Recently I attended the High Temperature Plasma Diagnostics conference in Albuquerque. The show focused on measuring the plasma wave primarily in Tokamaks. The primary technique is called Thomson scattering named after its discoverer JJ Thomson. The technique measures the scattering of electromagnetic radiation by a charged particle. A plasma wave accelerates the particle which in turn emits radiation and scatters the wave.

In the conference we saw numerous signal types used for the measurement including microwave, millimeter, acoustic, ultrasound, and others. Virtual Instrumentation was used for the control of the system as well as the data acquisition portion of the signal. The conference was well attended with over 250 people in the room.

Best regards,
Hall T.