Electron cyclotron emission as a density fluctuation diagnostic

A new technique for measuring density fluctuations using a high-resolution heterodyne electron cyclotron emission (ECE) radiometer has been developed. Although ECE radiometry is typically used for electron temperature measurements, the unique viewing geometry of this system’s quasioptical antenna has been found to make the detected emission extremely sensitive to refractive effects under certain conditions. This sensitivity gives the diagnostic the ability to measure very low levels of density fluctuations in the core of Alcator C-Mod tokamak. The refractive effects have been modeled using ray-tracing methods, allowing estimates of the density fluctuation magnitude and spatial localization.