Berlin 2014 – scientific programme

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Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik

Q 18: Laser development and applications III

Q 18.4: Talk

Tuesday, March 18, 2014, 11:15–11:30, DO26 207

Investigation of the intensity behavior of beta radioluminescence in tritium helium mixtures — •Oskari Pakari and Magnus Schlösser — Tritium Laboratory Karlsruhe, Institute for Technical Physics, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology

In future fusion reactors tritium and deuterium will be employed as fusion fuels. The fuel cycle of these reactors require accurate gas mixture analysis and monitoring systems. Raman spectroscopy is a promising candidate for this task.

However, Raman scattering is insensitive to mono-atomic helium, which is i) the fusion product and ii) used as important auxiliary gas in the fuel cycle processes. In order to detect helium in the gas streams the limited capabilities of Raman spectroscopy need to be extended. Therefore the following concept is considered. Tritium is a beta radiator which is present at every stage of the fuel cycle. The emitted beta electrons can excite helium atoms via collision. Subsequently, excited helium atoms de-excite under emission of a photon. This effect is called beta radioluminescence effect and the emission light could measured be as an option to monitor the tritium/helium ratio within the process gas in the fuel cycle.

This talk presents simultaneous Raman and beta radioluminescence spectroscopy of tritium helium gas mixtures. Furthermore, measured spectra under variation of the parameters i) pressure and ii) tritium-helium ratio will be discussed. Finally, a model to describe the intensity behavior will be introduced, as the experimental results do not suggest a linear correlation of intensity to the aforementioned parameters.