An FPGA-based bolometer for the MAST-U Super-X divertor

Area of Science:

• Fusion energy research
• Plasma diagnostics
• Advanced sensor technology

Background:

• The MAST-Upgrade tokamak requires precise measurement of radiated power, especially within the Super-X divertor configuration.
• Existing diagnostic systems may have limitations in time resolution and signal-to-noise ratio for advanced plasma studies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and implement a novel resistive bolometer system for high-resolution radiated power measurements on MAST-Upgrade.
• To leverage Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) technology for real-time data acquisition and signal processing.

Main Methods:

• Development of a new resistive bolometer system featuring 16 vertical and 16 horizontal lines of sight.
• Utilizing a Xilinx Zynq-7000 series FPGA on a D-TACQ ACQ2106 carrier for real-time data acquisition.
• Implementation of AC-synchronous detection and high-performance digital filtering for enhanced signal processing.

Main Results:

• The system successfully measures radiated power with millisecond time resolution.
• Achieved a high signal-to-noise ratio through FPGA-enabled digital filtering and AC-synchronous detection.
• Initial deployment on JET vertical bolometer channels shows good agreement with existing data, but with improved bandwidth and signal quality.

Conclusions:

• The new resistive bolometer system is a significant advancement for radiated power diagnostics on MAST-Upgrade.
• FPGA technology enables real-time, high-fidelity plasma measurements crucial for fusion research.
• The system's performance on JET validates its potential for future applications in fusion devices.