Microwave to THz diagnostic opportunities on FRC plasmas of TAE's Norm and Copernicus devices

The field reversed configuration (FRC) is a high beta poloidal field equilibrium with presumably negligible toroidal field. The FRC equilibrium concept being pursued at TAE Technologies has a significant neutral beam injected (NBI) fast ion component and plasma, extended outside the separatrix, connected to biasing electrodes lying outside the confining mirror regions. These FRC equilibria offer unique instrumental challenges to optical diagnostics that seek to provide density and magnetic field profile details. A study of the utility of interferometry, polarimetry and reflectometry diagnostics to the present Norm device and extrapolation to the future Copernicus device is presented. The parameter range of density and magnetic fields require probing wavelengths in the 100 micron to cm range. Conventional diagnostic systems and lesser known Pulsed Polarimeter and Radial Interferometer Polarimeter (RIP) diagnostics will be discussed for their utility in determining internal equilibrium distributions of n_e and B and providing measurements of fluctuation activity in n_e and B, such as identifying the internal tilt instability. Measured density distributions on Norm and simulated equilibrium data on Copernicus are used.