Development of readout electronics for thermocouples on NIO1 beam source

A small radiofrequency (RF) ion source, named NIO1 (Negative Ion Optimization, phase 1), has been recently installed at Consorzio RFX, in Padua. The NIO1 source is capable of producing about 130 mA of negative hydrogen ions accelerated at 60 kV and represents a useful test bench for negative ions source optimization. The exploitation of this device is included in the framework of the activities for SPIDER and MITICA, the prototypes of the negative ion source and of the whole neutral beam injector for ITER experiment, respectively. As in SPIDER and MITICA, thermal measurements are performed in NIO1 by several thermocouples. These measurements are indeed important for the evaluation of the thermal load distribution, plasma generation and beam extraction uniformities, for the monitoring of different experimental conditions, and for the verification of the reliability of source and beam-line components in the expected range of temperatures.