Rapidly Tunable, High Throughput Spectral Filter for Plasma Diagnostics

75843-Improving the sensitivity and time resolution of spectroscopic plasma diagnostics is required to further understanding and progress in the development of fusion energy as an economically attractive energy source. Higher throughput spectroscopic diagnostics not only will benefit present experiments, but also will be important for the next generation of fusion devices, such as ITER. Although a very high throughput birefringent filter has been developed, it cannot be rapidly tuned. This project will address this deficiency by designing and developing a high frequency, high voltage generator to electro-optically vary the pass-band of the spectral filter. Phase I will design and evaluate prototype concepts for a high voltage power supply for rapid tuning of the birefringent filter. The prototype will be tested on an existing single stage filter. This will form the basis on which to build and test a set of filters in Phase II. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee: A high throughput, high resolution spectral filter should benefit not only plasma diagnostic applications, but other fields where visible light emission is used. This includes such activities as environmental monitoring, where continuous emission monitors (CEM) play an important role in monitoring and remediation of environmental pollutants.