Intended to extract heat and particle flows as they escape from plasma, the divertor is comprised of tungsten blocks assembled together and cooled by circulating water. These elements are subject to extreme temperature conditions and can be damaged, or even melt. This new diagnosis implemented on WEST will make it possible to observe their thermal behavior and study the effects of misalignment between two tungsten blocks. It will also be possible to compare different geometries with unprecedented spatial resolution for this type of instrument.

The endoscope offers an observation area of 64 x 51 mm². A system of motorized mirrors will allow this area to move to different points of interest on the divertor. The image formed at the wavelength of 1.7 µm is collected on an infrared camera developed at IRFM, whose cooled shield is able to resist the tokamak's extreme magnetic environment. The temperature range extends from 300°C to 3,400°C. The data collected will feed into and further refine the specifications for ITER's divertor.