Thomson scattering is the industry standard diagnostic for measuring electron temperature, typically requiring, large, expensive, custom lasers. We are fortunate that ARPA-E has funded a team from Oakridge National Laboratory to build a portable Thomson system from commercial parts, and they are now installing and calibrating the diagnostic on the PFRC-2!
These measurements will give us critical insight on the plasma temperatures we are achieving with RMFo as a function of input power!
Would a Chirp Pulse Laser be a more efficient way to heat the plasma?
Will magnetic reconnection be applied to heat and accelerate the plasma?