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Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) is doing research and development in the field of megawatt-class radio frequency (RF) sources (gyrotrons) for the Electron Cyclotron Resonance Heating (ECRH) systems of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) and the DEMOnstration Fusion Power Plant that will follow ITER. In the focus is the development and verification of the European coaxial-cavity gyrotron technology which shall lead to gyrotrons operating at an RF output power significantly larger than 1 MW CW and at an operating frequency above 200 GHz. A major step into that direction is the final verification of the European 170 GHz 2 MW coaxial-cavity pre-prototype at longer pulses up to 1 s. It bases on the upgrade of an already existing highly modular short-pulse (ms-range) pre-prototype. That pre-prototype has shown a world record output power of 2.2 MW already. This paper summarizes briefly the already achieved experimental results using the short-pulse pre-prototype and discusses in detail the design and manufacturing process of the upgrade of the pre-prototype toward longer pulses up to 1 s.

The DEMO-relevant gyrotron research at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology is driven by the European concept for a demonstration fusion reactor (EU DEMO). This paper reports on the recent results of the theoretical and experimental studies towards the development of gyrotrons fulfilling the DEMO needs.

The maximum heat load on the cavity wall of high power fusion gyrotrons is one of the major limiting technological factors for the operation of the tube. To achieve the requested output power, efficiency and pulse length, a very efficient cooling of the interaction structure is mandatory. In this work, the performance of a mini-channel cavity cooling system for a 170 GHz, 2 MW coaxial-cavity gyrotron is numerically investigated, including the development of a mock-up test set-up for experimental validation.

After ITER, a DEMOnstration power plant (DEMO) is planned to prove technical feasibility of controlled thermonuclear fusion energy. High-frequency $(\geq 0.2\mathbf{THz})$ , high-power (2 MW) gyrotrons are planned as RF sources for Electron Cyclotron Resonance Heating and Current Drive (ECRH&CD) applications in DEMO. At such a high frequency, the effect of a possible electron beam misalignment could be critical for the gyrotron performance. For this reason, the beam misalignment tolerance has been numerically studied for a 236 GHz, 1.5 MW hollow-cavity gyrotron design using a macro-electron based simulation approach. Spread in the electron perpendicular velocity and the radial width of the electron beam are considered too. The results suggest a stable excitation of the selected TE-52,18-operating mode assuming a maximum electron beam misalignment (D) of 0.225 mm $(\mathbf{D}/1=0.18)$ .

Since many years KIT is strongly involved in the development of high power gyrotrons for use in ECRH. KIT is pursuing two development lines: (i) the conventional, hollow cavity gyrotron and (ii) the coaxial cavity gyrotron. KIT is pushing conventional cavity gyrotrons from 1 MW to 1.5 MW in a common project with IPP Greifswald. Coaxial cavity technology having the advantage of higher power capability, in particular at higher frequency, is used for the 2 MW 170 GHz short-pulse prototype. This gyrotron is currently being upgraded to allow pulse extension up to approximately 100 ms and up to 1 s in a second step. For a future DEMOnstration fusion power plant two challenging trends with respect to gyrotron features are recognized: (a) the operating frequency will be above 200 GHz and (b) the requested total efficiency of the gyrotron should be higher than 60%. KIT is addressing these requirements by investigating both gyrotron technologies for their performance at a frequency well above 200 GHz. We started careful analysis of multi-staged-depressed collectors.

In frame of the work package "Heating and Current Drive" within the HORIZON 2020 EUROfusion program the development of multi-megawatt gyrotrons for the DEMOnstration fusion power plant is ongoing at KIT. Additionally, possible future upgrades of gyrotrons for e.g. for W7-X and ITER, are under consideration. Using the KIT modular-type 170 GHz 2 MW short-pulse (ms-range) coaxial-cavity pre-prototype the superior performance of the coaxial-cavity gyrotron technology has been already demonstrated for pulse lengths of up to a few milliseconds, achieving an RF output power of 2.2 MW. This short-pulse pre-prototype is now being upgraded in two steps to allow investigation of long-pulse behavior. The first step allows pulse-lengths up to 100 ms. The second step shall allow pulse-lengths up to 1 s. The first step in the upgrade was finished just recently. Considering a multi-megawatt output power at around 50 % total efficiency of the tube, the upgrade of the pre-prototype did require significant developments in the areas of basic construction, in particular with regards to cooling technologies, and in the final assembly. In this paper, the basic construction, the manufacturing details and the assembly are shown. Additionally, it is planned to show the very first performance results of the long-pulse tube based on the measurements which will be achieved in the time frame before the conference.

After ITER, the first real prototype of a fusion power plant is foreseen. It is named Demonstration Power Plant (DEMO). Within the EUROfusion work package "Heating and Current Drive", the conceptual designs of both a hollow-cavity and coaxial-cavity gyrotron for DEMO has been suggested. For DEMO, the major target is to achieve an output power per tube which is significantly larger than 1 MW CW at an operating frequency of up to 240 GHz. In the case of the hollow-cavity gyrotron design, a very high-order TE mode (eigenvalue > 103 at a cut-off frequency of236 GHz) is the prerequisite for the targeted high output power. At this eigenvalue range, the excitation of the desired operating mode during gyrotron start-up becomes challenging due to a large number of competing modes. In this work, it is demonstrated by numerical simulation that mode excitation and mode competition control can be significantly facilitated by using special start-up scenarios, based on a triode electron gun.

At KIT, a modular 170 GHz, 2 MW TE34, i9-mode coaxial-cavity gyrotron with advanced water cooling is ready for tests. The successful operation of this tube will be a first important step towards a possible future DEMO gyrotron. Nevertheless, looking forward, there are two questions to be answered: (i) what potential does the existing coaxial cavity offer with regards to MW-class multi-frequency operation also at higher frequencies, and (ii) what could be a different mode selection to achieve an even higher output power in a more compact gyrotron design. To provide an answer to (i), based on the 170 GHz, 2 MW pre-prototype the multi-frequency operation at multiples of the resonance frequency of the diamond disc RF output window was carried out. Additionally, a slightly modified cavity design was introduced. To answer the question (ii), the TE25,22-mode was chosen and compared with the results got for the TE34, i9-mode. The extreme volume TE25,22-mode allows to reduce the beam radius by around 25 % and to increase the RF output power of the gyrotron by up to 30 %.

The development of a modular short-pulse pre-prototype as base for a 2 MW, 170 GHz, CW coaxial-cavity gyrotron for the international fusion project ITER and beyond is in progress at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). The current modular pre-prototype configuration allows the generation of > 2.2 MW RF output power in short-pulses with an overall efficiency of approximately 48 % in depressed collector operation. Due to the excellent experimental results, KIT is developing and manufacturing a coaxial 2 MW, 170 GHz longer-pulse gyrotron with an advanced water cooling system for a pulselength of up to 1 s. In this paper the current short pulse experimental results, as well as the design and manufacturing processes of the coaxial 2 MW longer-pulse gyrotron, will be presented.

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) is doing research and development in the field of high power gyrotrons for W7-X, ITER, and, towards a future DEMOnstration fusion power plant. While the initial installation of the ECRH system at W7-X is finished and operating very successfully, KIT is still involved in the development of gyrotrons for ITER. This work is coordinated by F4E and ongoing in frame of EGYC. Moreover, as part of EUROfusion, KIT is investing in the research for advanced fusion gyrotrons of future EU DEMO. The target is to develop gyrotrons which will fulfil the need for RF sources operating at a frequency above 200 GHz, an RF output power above 2 MW and a total efficiency above 60 %. Aditionally, multi-purpose/multi-frequency operation and frequency step-tunability are requested. That requires the research and development on advanced gyrotrons, test environments and control techniques. This contribution provides a view over ongoing and planned activities in the field of gyrotron development at KIT.

ECH&CD in future fusion reactors such as the European DEMOnstration power plant may require the availability of gyrotrons with operating frequency significantly above 200 GHz, RF output power of 2 MW, and total efficiency above 60 %. Depending on the technology for RF beam steering into the plasma, fast frequency tuning in steps of around 2 – 3 GHz might be required for plasma stability control. “Multi-purpose” operation at multiples of the λ/2-resonance frequency of the synthetic diamond gyrotron RF output window, hence in leaps of about 30 – 40 GHz might be considered for plasma start-up, heating and current drive. The combination of all those requirements challenges present-day technological limits for gyrotrons.

Considering the design goals and technological constraints for DEMO gyrotrons, conceptual design and tolerance analyses of a 236 GHz 1 MW conventional, hollow-cavity gyrotron and of a 237.5 GHz 2 MW coaxial-cavity gyrotron are ongoing at KIT. At such high power and frequency, very high order operating modes (eigenvalues > 100) are necessary to keep cavity wall loading at 2 kW/cm2. Both the small wavelength and the high eigenvalue make the gyrotrons susceptible to misalignment of electron beam and — if present — coaxial insert. For the hollow-cavity gyrotron, the influence of the off-axis electron beam on gyrotron operation has been very accurately investigated in interaction simulations with realistic beam parameters. For the coaxial-cavity gyrotron, the influence of insert misalignment on modes and on an aligned electron beam has been studied.

ECRH&CD is one of the favorite heating system for magnetically confined nuclear fusion plasmas. KIT is strongly involved in the development of high power gyrotrons for use in ECRH systems for nuclear fusion. KIT is upgrading the sub-components of the existing 2 MW, 170 GHz coaxial-cavity short-pulse gyrotron to support long-pulse operation up to 1 s, all components will be equipped with a specific active cooling system. Two important developments for future high power, highly efficient gyrotrons will be discussed: design of gyrotrons with high operating frequency (∼ 240 GHz) and efficiency enhancement by using advanced collector designs with multi-staged voltage depression.

The 170 GHz 2 MW TE34,19-mode coaxial-cavity modular short-pulse pre-prototype gyrotron at KIT was recently modified in order to verify the multi-megawatt coaxial-cavity technology at longer pulses. In parallel, theoretical investigations on a possibility to operate the 170 GHz TE34,19-mode coaxial-cavity prototype at multiple frequencies up to 238 GHz have been started, with a goal to find a configuration at which the tube could operate in the KIT FULGOR gyrotron test facility using the new 10.5 T SC magnet. This paper indicates which adjustments have to be made and show the feasibility of the multi-frequency operation. Small modifications at the gyrotron cavity will support an RF output power of more than 2 MW at 170/204 GHz. Furthermore, a new gyrotron launcher has been designed capable of producing a Gaussian microwave beam with a Gaussian mode content of more than 96% at these frequencies.

During the ongoing pre-concept phase (2014 – 2020) for a possible future European DEMOnstration Fusion Power Plant (DEMO) the activities within EUROfusion WP HCD EC Gyrotron R&D and Advanced Developments are focusing on options for near-term solutions, and, at the same time, on long-term even more advanced options. The near-term target for DEMO is to realize pulsed operation. According to the current baseline it will probably use an EC system operating at 170 GHz and 204 GHz is being assessed, whereas the long-term target aims for steady-state operation and frequencies for current drive up to 240 GHz. Common targets for both are an RF output power per unit of significantly above 1 MW (target: 2 MW) and a total gyrotron efficiency of significantly higher than 60 %. Frequency step-tunability and multi-purpose/multi-frequency operation have to be considered. Those targets shall be achieved by considering the coaxial-cavity gyrotron technology and advanced technologies for key components (e.g. CVD diamond-disk Brewster angle window). Advanced simulation and test tools are complementing the research and developments. Gyrotron development is additionally supported by a significant investment into a new multi-megawatt long-pulse gyrotron test stand which is under final installation at KIT currently.

A proximity-fed complementary Sierpinski gasket fractal with equilateral triangular shape resonator in multilayer structure to achieve dual-band behavior for WiMAX and WLAN applications has been proposed. An electromagnetic coupled stacked structure of two different patches operating at two frequencies (3.5 GHz WiMAX and 5.8 GHz wireless LAN) has been designed for dual-band wireless applications. Proposed antenna was simulated using CST Microwave Studio based on the finite integration technique (FIT) with perfect boundary approximation (PBA). Finally, the proposed antenna was fabricated and some performance parameters were measured to validate against simulation results. The design procedures and employed tuning techniques to achieve the desired performance are presented.

In order to find the upper limit for mode eigenvalues for stable 1 MW-class gyrotron operation, the behavior of a 236 GHz cylindrical (hollow) cavity gyrotron design is theoretically analyzed for operation with even higher order modes (eigenvalues between 100 and 145). In this frame, two independent methods are used to determine the effect of neighboring modes on mode stability and to estimate the eigenvalue limit for stable operation. With consideration of realistic electron beam parameters (velocity spread and beam width) and a diode start-up regime, the results of both methods suggest that mode eigenvalues smaller than 125 should be selected to ensure the stability of operation.

As part of the EUROfusion WP HCD EC project, the conceptual design of a 1 MW, 236 GHz hollow-cavity gyrotron is ongoing at IHM, KIT for a Demonstration Power Plant (DEMO), along with the 2 MW coaxial-cavity design concept. Fast frequency-tunable gyrotrons (tuning within a few seconds) are recommended for plasma stabilization using a non-movable antenna. In this work, the mode-selection approach for such a frequency-tunable gyrotron is presented and suitable operating modes for fast frequency tunability are suggested. Magnetic field tuning has been confirmed as an effective technique to tune the gyrotron operating frequency. The step-tunability of the 236 GHz gyrotron within the frequency range of ±10 GHz in steps of 2–3 GHz is demonstrated in numerical simulations.

Along with high power and high efficiency operation around 240 GHz, the requirements of DEMO gyrotrons include the possibility of multi-frequency operation and fast frequency tunability in 2–3 GHz steps. In this paper, multi-frequency operation of a proposed design for a conventional cavity DEMO gyrotron is presented, including operating parameters at different frequencies. The performance of the gyrotron is simulated considering realistic electron beam parameters.

The Demonstration Fusion Power Reactor (DEMO) to follow ITER by 2050 demands high frequency (>230 GHz), high power (in the range from 1 MW to 2 MW) gyrotrons as RF sources for electron cyclotron resonance heating and current drive (ECRH&CD). In the frame of the EUROfusion programme at KIT, the designs of conventional-cavity type and coaxial-cavity type DEMO-compatible gyrotrons are under investigation. In this presentation, the physical design of the interaction circuit of a 236 GHz conventional cavity gyrotron and its RF behavior are presented. The simulation results show a stable single mode RF output power without serious mode competition.

In this paper, the implementation of a phase retrieval algorithm for determining the phase profile of gyrotron output beams from measured intensity patterns at different planes is described along with a novel mode estimation technique based on a surface matching algorithm. A simulated Gaussian beam at different planes is considered as input of the phase retrieval algorithm. The proposed mode estimation technique supports the accurate mode estimation of different linearly polarized modes present in gyrotron output RF beam.

This prototype antenna design was targeted for WiMAX applications at 5.2 GHz and 5.8 GHz. Patch antenna size reduction is achieved in this work. To realize a dual band operation for WiMAX application at 5.2 GHz and 5.8 GHZ, ground plane loaded with CSSRR has been proposed. The proposed antenna provides good flexibility on selection of dual frequency operation by modifying dimension of CSSRR and patch. The antenna was designed using CST V.9 simulator.

This paper presents the design studies of a 0.5 MW, CW, 42 GHz conventional cavity gyrotron, for plasma heating application in an experimental Tokamak in India. The mode selection process followed by resonator design and RF behavior studies will be presented in this paper.

In this paper, the first hand design of the output system of a 170 GHz, 0.5 MW will be presented. This gyrotron will be used for ECRH/ECCD applications in an experimental Indian Tokamak. The output system of the gyrotron includes a non-linear up-taper, an advanced dimpled-wall quasi-optical launcher and an RF window. All these components are designed and optimized such that a linearly polarized, Gaussian like beam is obtained as an output of the gyrotron.

As part of the EUROfusion project, the conceptual design of a 1 MW 236 GHz hollow-cavity gyrotron is ongoing at IHM, KIT for a DEMOnstration Power Plant (DEMO), along with a 2 MW coaxial-cavity design concept. Fast frequency-tunable gyrotrons (tuning within a few seconds) are recommended for plasma stabilization using a non-steerable antenna. In this work, the mode-selection approach for such a frequency-tunable gyrotron is presented and suitable operating modes for fast frequency tunability are suggested. Magnetic field tuning has been studied as an effective technique to tune the gyrotron operating frequency. The step-tunability of the 236 GHz gyrotron within the frequency range of ±10 GHz in steps of 2–3 GHz is demonstrated in numerical simulations. A hybrid-type Quasi-Optical Launcher (QOL) has been designed for a step-frequency tunable gyrotron with sufficiently high Fundamental Gaussian Mode Content (FGMC).

The magnetron injection gun (MIG) is one of the most critical subcomponents in gyrotrons. The electron beam, which has the primary role on the gyrotron operation, is generated and configured at this part of the tube. The electron beam properties determine the excitation mode in the cavity, the power of the generated microwaves and the gyrotron efficiency. The operation of MIGs could be influenced by several factors such as trapped electrons, manufacturing tolerances, roughness of the emitter ring, emitter temperature inhomogeneity, electron beam neutralization effect, etc. The influence of many of these factors on the electron beam quality has been systematically investigated during the last years. Several novelties have been proposed in order to limit the influence of these factors on the gyrotron operation. In particular, new design criteria have been proposed for the suppression of electron trapping mechanisms, a new type of the emitter ring has been proposed to minimize the influence of the manufacturing tolerances and edge effects on the beam quality, alternative MIG design approaches have been proposed, etc. An overview of all these works will be presented here.