Measurement of fusion-reaction protons in TEXTOR tokamak plasma by means of solid-state nuclear track detectors of the CR-39/PM-355 type

The paper describes a new attempt to measure fusion-reaction protons emitted from TEXTOR tokamak plasma. To perform test measurements, a small ion pinhole camera and solid-state nuclear track detectors (SSNTDs) of the PM-355 type were used. After the irradiation the detector was subjected to the interrupted etching procedure. The tracks of 3 MeV fusion-reaction protons were analyzed with an optical microscope. The main aim of the experiment was to determine the number and spatial distribution of the recorded fusion protons. Other PM-355 detector samples were irradiated with mono-energetic protons to determine calibration characteristics of the detectors. The measurements have been supported by the computation of proton trajectories in the TEXTOR facility and that of expected efficiency of the measuring setup for the 3 MeV proton detection. The computer simulations of different trajectories of charged particles (on the basis of motion equations), as well as those of the detection efficiency, have been performed with the Gourdon code.