First operation of a high-heat flux, flush mounted ``rail'' Langmuir probe array on Alcator C-Mod

Divertor Langmuir probes are typically built proud of the divertor surface for an accurate measurement of the plasma flux. However, under the high heat flux conditions seen in Alcator C-Mod, proud tungsten probes that present a 10 degree attack angle to the incident heat flux can experience melt damage with less then 1 second plasma exposure time. A similar situation is anticipated for ITER. It is therefore desirable to develop a flush probe system that can both survive reactor-level fluxes and take accurate measurements. A poloidal array of 21 flush-mounted ``rail'' probes have been installed in the C-Mod outer divertor plate, which are toroidally-extended and field-aligned to minimize sheath expansion effects. Initial results indicate that the ``rail'' probes have a well-defined ion saturation current, reporting similar density and temperature measurements as proud probes. However, uncertainty in the projected area becomes significant when the incident magnetic field angle becomes less than $\sim$0.5 degrees. Additionally, because the flush probes are conformal to the divertor surface, they are ideally suited to measure the poloidal distribution of halo currents during disruptions.