A new hard x-ray spectrometer for runaway electron measurements in tokamaks

Runaway electron gamma-ray detection system, a novel hard x-ray (HXR) spectrometer optimized for bremsstrahlung radiation measurement from runaway electrons in fusion plasmas, has been developed. The detector is based on a 1'x1' LaBr3:Ce scintillator crystal coupled with a photomultiplier tube. The system has an energy dynamic range exceeding 20 MeV with an energy resolution of 3% at 661.7 keV. The detector gain is stable even under severe loads, with a gain shift that stays below 3% at HXR counting rates in excess of 1 MCps. The performance of the system enables unprecedented studies of the time-dependent runaway electron energy distribution function, as shown in recent runaway electron physics experiments at the ASDEX Upgrade and COMPASS tokamaks.