Data streaming infra-red video bolometer (IRVB) of Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research (KSTAR)

Due to the increasing demands for active plasma control operations, in situ diagnostics are highly sought after. Tungsten plasma-facing components have been utilized in the Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research (KSTAR) lower divertor since the 2023 campaign. Plasma radiation is a key parameter for plasma control, especially in radiation front control experiments. Therefore, the KSTAR infra-red video bolometer (IRVB) needs to be reconfigured into an in situ data streaming diagnostic. This requires comprehensive changes in both infra-red camera control and data analysis compared to the previous system. To ensure the stability of the reconfigured system, functional parts are grouped and separated into individual processes to protect camera acquisitions from errors in other processes. In addition, to enhance the speed of data streaming analysis, the analysis code has been optimized and converted into graphics processing unit (GPU) code. Besides the data streaming analysis, the system is also designed to support post-shot analysis with the entire frame data for the same shot to address frame drop issues encountered during data streaming. Radiation front control experiments with N2 gas seeding are successful results of the data streaming IRVB for its commissioning. This paper focuses on the development of the data streaming IRVB system.