Optical Properties of Thomson Scattering Diagnostics Lower Window Glass under Laser Irradiation

Abstract

Tokamak diagnostic window glass is an indispensable optical medium in fusion research. The transmittance of the device affects the optical performance and accuracy of the diagnostic system. Especially, the window glass serves as the entrance of the light source while performing the sealing function for the active diagnosis method represented by Thomson scattering diagnostics. In this work, we studied the influence of the laser irradiation and tokamak discharge on the EAST (Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak) Thomson scattering diagnostic borosilicate glass window. Using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Raman scattering, we found that carbon-based impurities in the device aggravated the film damage due to laser irradiation, reducing the performance of the coating of the glass. Besides, the laser and the various rays of tokamak discharge generated many point defects in the glass, increasing the light absorption of the glass. These two factors caused the glass transmittance to drop significantly (from 99.99% to 77.62%). In addition, the long-term laser irradiation primarily reduced the transmittance, while environmental rays had a minor impact on the same. This work provides valuable insights into the selection and effective use of glass in optics-based diagnostics.