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In a high power Electron Cyclotron Resonance Heating (ECRH) system, a long-distance and low-loss transmission system is required to realize effective heating of nuclear fusion-relevant plasmas. A millimeter-wave beam position and profile monitor, which can be used in a high-power, evacuated, and cooled transmission line, is proposed, designed, manufactured, and tested. The beam monitor consists of a reflector, Peltier-device array and a heat-sink. It was tested using simulated electric heater power or gyrotron output power. The data obtained from the monitor were well agreed with the heat source position and profile. The methods of data analysis and mode-content analysis of a propagating millimeter-wave in the corrugated waveguide are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Until 2009, three high-power, over 1MW each, 77GHz gyrotrons have been installed and applied to the LHD experiment. In addition, a 154GHz gyrotron of 1MW was installed in 2012. The 77GHz gyrotrons suffer gradual increases of internal pressure during long-pulse operation delivering power to LHD. To mitigate the problem, quasi-steady operation by combination of on-off operations of the 77GHz gyrotrons was performed. Applying two 77GHz gyrotrons alternately with intervals of two minutes and an 84GHz gyrotron continuously, a 30 min. long-pulse discharge with the line average electron density ne_ave of 0.7x1019m-3 and the central electron temperature Te0 of 1.7keV was achieved by the time average injection power Pinj of 260kW in 2012, showing significant progress in sustained density from the former 65 min. discharge with ne_ave of 0.15x1019m-3 and Te0 of 1.7keV by Pinj of 110kW of 84GHz wave. In 2013, one of the 77GHz gyrotron was improved to furnish a sub-window to remove stray radiation inside the tube. And the new 154GHz gyrotron was applied to the long-pulse discharge experiment. Using three gyrotrons: 154, the improved and an existing 77GHz with Pinj of 340kW in total, higher temperature plasma having steep temperature gradient typical for internal transport barrier, with ne_ave of 1.1x1019m-3 and Te0 of 3.5keV was quite stably sustained for 325s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enhancement of the output powEr pEr gyrotron has been planned in the Large Helical Device (LHD). Three 77-GHz gyrotrons with an output powEr of more than 1 MW have been opEraTed. In addition, a high powEr gyrotron with the frequency of 154 GHz (1 MW/5 s, 0.5 MW/CW) was newly installed in 2012 and the total injection powEr of ECRH reached 4.6 MW. The opErational regime of ECRH plasma on the LHD has been exTended due to the upgraded ECRH sysTem such as the central electron TempErature Te0 = 13.5 keV with ne = 1x1019 m-3. In the LHD, an electron-inTernaltransport barriEr (e-ITB) relaTed to the production of high Te plasmas has been realized by strongly centre-focused ECRH. The electron thErmal confinement clearly improved inside the e-ITB. The radial electric field was measured using the heavy ion beam probe. The formation of the positive Er was obsErved in the core region, which well agreed with the prediction of the neoclassical transport theory. The energy confinement characTeristics have been investigaTed in the ECRH plasmas. It was found that highEr plasma stored energy and lowEr radiation powEr was realized in the outward configuration. The plasma stored energy of 530 kJ with ne = 3.2x1019 m-3, which is the 1.7 times largEr than the previous record in the ECRH plasma in the LHD, has been successfully achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To sustain plasmas with higher parameters and with longer pulse duration in LHD, ECH system has been upgraded by introducing newly developed 77 GHz gyrotrons. The designed output power and operation duration time are over 1 MW for several seconds and 0.3 MW for continuous operation, respectively. Owing to the upgrade of gyrotrons and improved power supply operation procedure, total injection power of EC-waves to LHD increased up to 3.7 MW at the last LHD experimental campaign in 2010. Application of the high-power 77 GHz EC-waves of 3.4 MW as focused beams to the center of plasma with low line-average electron density of ∼0.2×1019 m-3 causes highly steep electron temperature profile and the central electron temperature reached up to 20 keV, which highly exceeds the former record of 15 keV. At higher density region of 1×1019 m-3, central electron temperature reached 8.6 keV. Additional electron Bernstein wave heatings, O-X-B and slow X-B heatings, using a 77 GHz ECH system caused clear increase in plasma stored energy even for the high-density plasmas over plasma cutoff (>7.35×1019 m-3) sustained with NBI. For the O-X-B scenario, the 77 GHz EC-wave was obliquely injected from low-field side in O-mode polarization, aiming at the point where high mode-conversion efficiency was expected. For realizing slow X-B scenario, new inner-vessel mirrors were installed in LHD just close to a helical coil, that is, at the high-field side (HFS) region. Using the inner-vessel mirror, X-mode waves were injected from HFS, showing evident increase in plasma stored energy. Oblique injection of long-pulse 0.77 MW/8 s 77 GHz wave with various N∥ clearly demonstrated ECCD in LHD. The EC-driven current changes its direction with the sign of N∥, and the highest EC-driven current reached up to 42 kA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electron Cyclotron Resonance Heating (ECRH) has contributed to the achievement of high performance plasma production, high electron temperature plasmas and sustainment of steady-state plasmas in the Large Helical Device (LHD). Our immediate targets of upgrading the ECRH system are 5 MW several seconds and 1 MW longer than one hour power injection into LHD. The improvement will greatly extend the plasma parameter regime. For that purpose, we have been promoting the development and installation of 77 GHz/1–1.5 MW/several seconds and 0.3 MW/CW gyrotrons in collaboration with University of Tsukuba. The transmission lines are re-examined and improved for high and CW power transmission. In the recent experimental campaign, two 77 GHz gyrotrons were operated. One more gyrotron, which was designed for 1.5 MW/2 s output, was constructed and is tested. We have been promoting to improve total ECRH efficiency for efficient gyrotron-power use and efficient plasma heating, e.g. a new waveguide alignment method and mode-content analysis and the feedback control of the injection polarization. In the last experimental campaign, the 77 GHz gyrotrons were used in combination with the existing 84 GHz range and 168 GHz gyrotrons. Multi-frequency ECRH system is more flexible in plasma heating experiments and diagnostics. A lot of experiments have been performed in relation to high electron temperature plasmas by realization of the core electron-root confinement (CERC), electron cyclotron current drive (ECCD), Electron Bernstein Wave heating, and steady-state plasma sustainment. Some of the experimental results are briefly described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have investigated the transition to Core Electron-Root Confinement (CERC) using the 77 GHz ECRH system, which was newly installed in the Large Helical Device (LHD). The focal point scan of the ECRH was carried out shot by shot in the same poloidal surface along the magnetic field of 2.75 T, which is the fundamental resonance surface for 77 GHz ECRH. The formation of the steep gradient in the electron temperature and the change of the radial electric field from negative to positive value in the plasma core region were observed by the ECRH injection to ρ<0.5. The foot point of the peaked profile of the electron temperature appeared near the m/n = 2/1 rational surface, which was located at ρ∼0.5. These results imply that localized ECRH in the inner region within the lower order rational surface and/or the electron heat flux across the rational surface play important roles for the transition to CERC. We also confirmed that the calculated radial electric field from a neoclassical theory qualitatively agreed with the experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]