On using Rayleigh scattering for in situ spectral calibration of Thomson scattering diagnostics

A new method for in situ spectral calibration of Thomson scattering diagnostics is proposed. The idea of the method is to apply a wavelength tunable optical parametric oscillator for measurements of Rayleigh scattering at different wavelengths, from which relative sensitivities can be calculated. This extends the usual approach where Rayleigh scattering is used only at a single wavelength for the absolute calibration and spectral sensitivities are obtained separately. With the new approach, the full diagnostic setup is spectrally calibrated at once. Such a calibration can be repeated at regular intervals during an experimental campaign since it does not require a break of the vacuum. In this paper, the Rayleigh scattering calibration is tested in a laboratory setup with a sample Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) polychromator. It is shown that relative sensitivities of spectral channels can be recovered with a sufficient resolution even under conditions of significant stray light. The stray light is overcome by measuring the linear dependence of the scattered signal on the gas pressure. Good results of laboratory tests motivate the installation of the new calibration system for the Thomson scattering diagnostic at W7-X.