Critical assessment of pressure gauges for ITER

The density and flux of molecular species in ITER, largely dominated by the molecular form of the main plasma components and the He ash, is a valuable parameter of relevance not only for operation purposes but also for validating existing neutral particle models of direct implications in divertor performance. An accurate and spatially resolved monitoring of this parameter implies the proper selection of pressure gauges able to cope with the very unique and aggressive environment to be expected in a fusion reactor. To date, there is no standard gauge fulfilling all the requirements, which encompass high neutron and gamma fluxes, together with strong magnetic field and temperature excursions and dusty environment. In the present work, a review of the challenges to face in the measurement of neutral pressure in ITER, together with existing technologies and developments to be made in some of them for their application to the task is presented. Particular attention is paid to R&D needs of existing concepts with potential use in future designs.