Novel Application of Parallel Computing Techniques in Soft X-Rays Plasma Measurement Systems for the WEST Experimental Thermal Fusion Reactor

The article presents results of the novel approach of combining high-performance and parallel computing solutions with front-end electronics in the development of scalable specialized soft X-rays measurement tool for high-scale plasma physics experiments with thermal fusion devices. Regarding the need for an easily-modifiable advanced diagnostics of tokamak hot plasma content, the heterogeneous system consisting of FPGAs and the PC server was introduced. The objective is to provide data quality monitoring and evaluation mechanisms along with an algorithm benchmarking tool for fast, low-latency measurements of soft X-rays emitted by hot tokamak plasma. The article describes a method of the development of the computation pipeline on the server side. The novel parallel algorithms and results are discussed. This brand new approach is targeted to adapt a HPC techniques in new areas of science, where comprehensive low-latency measurements and instrumentation are increasingly desired. The presented solution is deployed in the operational tokamak WEST (Tungsten Environment in Steady-State Tokamak) in collaboration with French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), Cadarache, France.