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A 800 kW, 140 GHz gyrotron has been mounted on TEXTOR. Initial operation was limited by arcs in the transmission line, and by pulse length restrictions due to the expected limited power handling of the window and the launching mirror. Measurements of power absorption in the window and launching mirror, however, showed them to be capable of handling full power, 3 s pulses, while arcing could be prevented by absorption of stray radiation at strategic position in the transmission line. This resulted in the realisation of full power, 3 s pulses on the plasma. Further measures were taken to prevent gyrotron operation in wrong modes or under conditions of low absorption in the plasma. Future improvements, expected to allow further extension of the pulse length to 10 s include: a CVD diamond window to replace the current quartz torus vacuum window, and a fast and accurate launcher.

Experimental investigations of sawteeth interaction with fast ions measured by collective Thomson scattering on TEXTOR are presented. Time-resolved measurements of localized 1D fast-ion distribution functions allow us to study fast-ion dynamics during several sawtooth cycles. Sawtooth oscillations interact strongly with the fast-ion population in a wide range of plasma parameters. Part of the ion phase space density oscillates out of phase with the sawtooth oscillation during hydrogen neutral beam injection (NBI). These oscillations most likely originate from fast hydrogen ions with energies close to the full injection energy. At lower energies passing fast ions in the plasma centre are strongly redistributed at the time of sawtooth collapse but no redistribution of trapped fast ions is observed. The redistribution of fast ions from deuterium NBI in the plasma centre is found to vary throughout velocity space. The reduction is most pronounced for passing ions. We find no evidence of inverted sawteeth outside the sawtooth inversion surface in the fast-ion distribution function.

Neoclassical tearing modes (NTMs) deteriorate high-pressure tokamak plasma confinement and can be suppressed by electron cyclotron current drive (ECCD). In order to obtain efficient suppression, the ECCD power needs to be deposited at the center of an NTM magnetic island. To enhance efficiency, this power also needs to be synchronized in phase with the rotation of the island. The problem is that of real-time detection and precise localization of the island(s) in order to provide the feedback signal required to control the ECCD power deposition area with an accuracy of 1 to 2 cm. Existing schemes based on mode location, equilibrium reconstruction, and plasma profile measurements are limited in positional and temporal accuracy and moreover will become very complex when applied to ITER. To overcome these limitations, it is proposed to provide the feedback signal from electron cyclotron emission (ECE) measurements taken along the identical line of sight as traced by the incident ECCD millimeter-wave beam but in reverse direction. Experiments on TEXTOR have demonstrated a proof of principle. These measurements motivate the further development and the implementation of such an ECCD-aligned ECE system for NTM control in larger fusion machines. Possible implementation of such a system on ASDEX-Upgrade, based on waveguides equipped with a fast directional switch, is presented in this paper. Possible further development for ITER is also discussed.

This paper presents an integrated installation that facilitates closed-loop control of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) events in a tokamak by means of electron cyclotron resonance heating and current drive. Model-based control of an elect ro-mechanical launcher, diagnosis and identification of mode features for real-time control, and control-oriented modeling of magnetic island dynamics are addressed, both in terms of hardware as well as conceptual design. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Fast ions created in the fusion processes will provide up to 70% of the heating in ITER. To optimize heating and current drive in magnetically confined plasmas insight into fast-ion dynamics is important. First measurements of such dynamics by collective Thomson scattering (CTS) were recently reported [Bindslev , Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 205005 2006]. Here we extend the discussion of these results which were obtained at the TEXTOR tokamak. The fast ions are generated by neutral-beam injection and ion-cyclotron resonance heating. The CTS system uses 100-150 kW of 110-GHz gyrotron probing radiation which scatters off the collective plasma fluctuations driven by the fast-ion motion. The technique measures the projected one-dimensional velocity distribution of confined fast ions in the scattering volume where the probe and receiver beams cross. By shifting the scattering volume a number of scattering locations and different resolved velocity components can be measured. The temporal resolution is 4 ms while the spatial resolution is similar to 10 cm depending on the scattering geometry. Fast-ion velocity distributions in a variety of scenarios are measured, including the evolution of the velocity distribution after turnoff of the ion heating. These results are in close agreement with numerical simulations.

Summary form only given. A critical need exists for confined fast ion diagnostics in tokamak fusion experiments, particularly for fusion product alpha particles in ITER and future fusion burning experiments. To develop this diagnostic capability and in support of current fast ion plasma physics research, collective Thomson scattering (CTS) diagnostics have been implemented at TEXTOR and ASDEX Upgrade (AUG) tokamaks using available gyrotron infrastructure with the addition of sensitive scattered signal receiver systems. At TEXTOR a 180 kW, 110 GHz gyrotron and a 42 channel. 6 GHz bandwidth heterodyne receiver has achieved up to 100 CTS scattered spectra per plasma shot with 4 ms time and 10 cm spatial resolution. Large scattering angles (~160deg) with steerable optics enable observation of fast ion spatial and field orientation anisotropies. Studies of fast ion dynamics behavior with neutral beam injection (NBI) and ion cyclotron heating have commenced, resulting in unique observations of fast ions redistributions during sawteeth and slow down after NBI turn off. At AUG a 1 MW, 105 GHz mode of a two-frequency gyrotron with a 50 channel, 10 GHz bandwidth receiver is becoming operational for CTS diagnostics with resolutions similar to TEXTOR. Precise gyrotron frequency measurements, notch filter timing, transmission line alignments, and receiver field of view mappings inside the tokamak have been accomplished using novel beam profile instrumentation. AUG-CTS commissioning progress will be presented. Plasma measurements in AUG are expected to provide new insights into fast ion physics and to further validate gyrotron CTS as a fast ion diagnostic tool for ITER.

Here we present the first measurements by collective Thomson scattering of the evolution of fast-ion populations in a magnetically confined fusion plasma. 150 kW and 110 Ghz radiation from a gyrotron were scattered in the TEXTOR tokamak plasma with energetic ions generated by neutral beam injection and ion cyclotron resonance heating. The temporal behavior of the spatially resolved fast-ion velocity distribution is inferred from the received scattered radiation. The fast-ion dynamics at sawteeth and the slowdown after switch off of auxiliary heating is resolved in time. The latter is shown to be in close agreement with modeling results.

At the TEXTOR tokamak a 140 GHz, 800 kW, 10 s gyrotron is employed for studies on ECW heating and ECCD. A key program is the suppression of tearing modes, which is aided by the unique facility at TEXTOR to program magnetic structures during a discharge (DED). A scheme is under development which aims to detect the perturbations on the electron cyclotron emission caused by these instabilities via the same line of sight as is used by the ECRH beam, and to use this information for feedback control of the instability. A brief overview of TEXTOR and relevant island parameters is given as well as a description of the upgraded ECRH system. This is followed by a description of the design of the transmission line coupler and receiver for island detection which constitutes the main topic of the paper. The final section sketches the feedback controller that processes the receiver signals, and controls the moveable launcher and the gyrotron power.

Here we present the first measurements by collective Thomson scattering of the evolution of fast-ion populations in a magnetically confined fusion plasma. 150 kW and 110 Ghz radiation from a gyrotron were scattered in the TEXTOR tokamak plasma with energetic ions generated by neutral beam injection and ion cyclotron resonance heating. The temporal behavior of the spatially resolved fast-ion velocity distribution is inferred from the received scattered radiation. The fast-ion dynamics at sawteeth and the slowdown after switch off of auxiliary heating is resolved in time. The latter is shown to be in close agreement with modeling results.

Previous electron cyclotron wave experiments on TEXTOR were performed using a 110 GHz, 350 kW, 200 ms gyrotron. The installation is presently extended with a new gyrotron at 140 GHz, which produces more than 800 kW of RF power in a Gaussian beam for more than 3 s at 1% duty cycle. Auxiliary systems have been overhauled and upgraded. The installation can be conveniently switched between gyrotrons while the control system is kept extremely versatile allowing to switch between manual expert operation and fully automated operation from the TEXTOR control room. A scheme is being developed to allow control of the steerable launcher depending on real-time plasma parameters. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Here we present collective Thomson scattering measurements of 1D fast-ion velocity distribution functions in neutral beam heated TEXTOR plasmas with sawtooth oscillations. Up to 50% of the fast ions in the centre are redistributed as a consequence of a sawtooth crash. We resolve various directions to the magnetic field. The fast-ion distribution is found to be anisotropic as expected. For a resolved angle of 39¿ to the magnetic field we find a drop in the fast-ion distribution of 20–40%. For a resolved angle of 83¿ to the magnetic field the drop is no larger than 20%. (Some figures in this article are in colour only in the electronic version)

Since the efficiency of the tearing mode suppression by heating depends on the electron heat diffusivity it is important to know if the electron heat transport coefficients inside the island are reduced compared with the ambient plasma. With that aim, modulated ECRH has been employed for heat pulse propagation studies in and around magnetic islands at the TEXTOR tokamak. The combination of its special hardware tools of the Dynamic Ergodic Divertor to generate tearing modes, the ECRH system for producing heat pulses and the electron cyclotron emission imaging (ECE-Imaging) diagnostic for its analysis offered a direct view of the perturbed two-dimensional heat flow in around the magnetic island. Inside m/n = 2/1 and m/n = 3/1 islands with a flattened temperature profile, the electron heat transport is shown to be strongly reduced with respect to the surrounding plasma. Inside the islands a heat pulse diffusion coefficients χe ∼ 0.4 m2 s−1 was derived, while outside the island it is an order of magnitude larger χe > 3 m2 s−1. In contrast, power balance calculations of strongly heated islands show that the electron transport is similar to the surrounding plasma. These results suggest that the heat transport inside a magnetic island is also governed by a critical gradient-like behaviour, similar to the bulk plasma.