Feasibility study of a diagnostic wire calorimeter for the SPIDER experiment

To optimise the particle beam for the nuclear fusion experiment ITER it is necessary to measure the beam parameters with high spatial resolution. This can be done with a diagnostic calorimeter composed of an arrangement of wires made of suitable material. The wires, exposed to the beam, heat up because of the deposition of power and reach a temperature high enough to irradiate the thermal power received. The present thesis aims at the preliminary design of a wire calorimeter made of tungsten for the beam produced in SPIDER, the prototype beam source for ITER. The work starts with the simulation of the results expected from the experimental calibration of the light emitted from tungsten wire samples heated by an electrical current and observed by a camera. After comparing measurements and simulations, the work continues with the numerical simulation of the effect on the calorimeter wires of realistic SPIDER beam profiles, deducing the requirements on the wires and on their spatial distribution.