Multichannel Thomson scattering diagnostics for the GOL-3 facility

A multichannel Thomson scattering diagnostics for measuring the plasma parameters in the GOL-3 facility was designed and created at the Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Siberian Division of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The diagnostics operates at the fundamental harmonic of a neodymium laser (1.06 µm) and allows one to perform measurements over a wide range of electron temperatures and densities with high spatial and time resolutions. A special multipulse oscillator is developed that makes it possible to perform up to 20 measurements of the plasma temperature and density over a period of 300 µs during one shot. The laser used to generate probing radiation, the recording system, and the calibration procedure are described. Results from measurements of the temporal evolution of the plasma density in the GOL-3 in different stages of the discharge are presented to illustrate the system operation.