Optical methods of measuring particle energy distributions formed by wall-plasma interaction in thermonuclear units

The primary mechanisms whereby impirities enter the plasma of thermonuclear units are examined. An analysis is made of the energy distributions of particles resulting from the erosion of materials by each of the three main processes: sputtering, arcing, and evaporation. The possibilities of two optical methods for studying energy distributions of impurity particles in a plasma are analyzed. One of them (laser resonance fluorescence) is based on absorption phenomena, while the second (spectroscopic method) is based on radiation emission phenomena. Data is presented from published reports on the use of the laser fluorescence method under conditions found in existing thermonuclear units. 64 references, 9 figures, 3 tables