Detection and measurement of Post-Rosenbluth convective instability in MFTF with a hybrid CO2 laser-heterodyne diagnostic system

To measure and classify the Post-Rosenbluth convective losscone instability in MFTF, a CO2 laser consisting of a TEA-pulsed section and a low pressure CW section, together with a light mixing receiver was used. Calculations show that the system offers sufficient power and sensitivity to detect instability throughout the range from strong coherent light scattering to weak incoherent scattering when the instability is eliminated.