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The first unit of the dual-frequency gyrotron, 84126GHz/1MW/2s, for the upgrade of the TCV ECH system has been delivered and is presently being commissioned. During a first phase, long-pulse operation (TRF gt 0.5 mathrm{s}) has been achieved and powers in excess of 0.93MW/1.1s and 1MW/1.2s have been measured in the evacuated RF-load at the two frequencies, 84GHz (TE {17,5} mode) and 126GHz (TE {26,7} mode), respectively. Considering the different rf losses in the experimental setup, the power level generated in the gyrotron cavity is in excess of 1.1MW and 1.2MW, with a corresponding electronic efficiency of 35% and 36%. These values are in excellent agreement with the design parameters and would likely lead to a gyrotron total efficiency higher than 50% in case of implementation of a depressed collector. The gyrotron behavior is remarkably reliable and robust with the pulse length extension to 2s presently only limited by external auxiliary systems.

The parallel velocity distribution function of the weakly relativistic electron beam of a quasi-optical gyrotron has been determined by measuring the Doppler-shifted Electron Cyclotron Emission (ECE) at an angle theta=15 degrees with respect to the external magnetic de-field. Due to the Doppler shift, the frequency of the spontaneous cyclotron emission at the fundamental (nu(0) = 100 GHz) is upshifted to 140 GHz. A broadening of the spectrum up to 10 GHz [full width at half maximium (FWHM)] was measured. The measured mean frequency agrees well with the theoretical predictions, but the observed line-width, and hence the parallel velocity distribution function, is 2-3 times larger than expected. Considerations on ECE-measurements of the electron beam energy spread, performed at larger angles theta, are also discussed. (C) 1996 American Institute of Physics.

The Electron Cyclotron system for ITER is an in-kind procurement shared between five parties and the total installed power will be 24 MW, corresponding to a nominal injected power of 20 MW to the plasma, with a possible upgrade up to 48 MW (corresponding to 40 MW injected). Some critical issues have been raised and changes are proposed to simplify these procurements and to facilitate the integration into ITER. The progress in the design and the integration of the EC system into the whole project is presented in this paper, as well as some issues still under studies and some recommendations made by external expert committees. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The operating space of the TCV tokamak has been extended to higher elongation, kappa = 2.8, and higher normalized current, I-N = I-p/aB = 3.6MA/mT, than were previously attainable. This has been achieved by optimizing the parameters of the vertical position control system and by optimizing the plasma shape. Experimental current and beta limits were found to be consistent with ideal MHD stability calculations, using measured plasma shapes and profiles. The sawtooth period was measured as a function of elongation and sawtooth oscillations are found to disappear, at high elongation, when the internal inductance drops below l(i) similar to 0.69. MHD events at high elongation have been analysed, using magnetic fluctuation measurements. The electron energy confinement time at high elongation, 2.2 < kappa < 2.7, shows a strong dependence on density and power flux through the plasma surface, but no statistically significant dependence on K. Finally, we have applied off-axis, second harmonic, X-mode electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH) in order to flatten the current profile and improve vertical stability. This gave access to previously inaccessible domains in kappa-IN space.

In addition to the second harmonic X-mode (X2) electron cyclotron heating (ECH), the TCV ECH system has been completed with three 450 kW gyrotrons operating at the frequency of 118 GHz for third harmonic X-mode (X3) in a top-launch configuration. In the relatively low magnetic field of TCV (1.45 T), the X2 cutoff density is n(e,cutoff)((X2)) = 4 x 10(19) m(-3) and X3 extends the accessible plasma density range up to n(e,cutoff)((X3)) = 11.5 x 10(19) m(-3). The X3 absorption coefficient is lower than that for, X2 by a factor (k(B)T(e))/(m(e)c(2)) and a top-launch injection system has been installed to maximize the beam path along the resonance layer, thus maximizing the optical depth. Theoretical considerations based on a one-dimensional slab geometry model show that the X3 absorption depends mainly on the temperature and the density. It is shown, using a simple two-dimensional model, that in the presence of a suprathermal electron population, the resonance layer width is significantly increased owing to the relativistic shift. The specificity of the top-launch configuration implies that the absorption strongly depends on the propagation direction of the beam. Experimental results are compared with calculations using the linear ray-tracing code TORAY-GA. At the maximum available X3 injected power (1350M), full single-pass absorption is measured, increasing the global electron energy by a factor of 2.5, whereas TORAY-GA predicts only 50% absorption.

The operation of a 92 GHz quasi-optical gyrotron having a resonator formed by a spherical mirror and a diffraction grating placed in -1 order Littrow mount is presented. A power of 150 kW with a Gaussian output pattern was measured. The Gaussian content in the output was 98% with less than 1% of depolarization. By optimizing the magnetic field al fixed frequency a maximum efficiency of 15% was reached. (C) 1996 American Institute of Physics.

The design of a diffration grating used as an output coupler for a Fabry-Perot resonator is presented. We then consider the problem of determining the distortion and the cross-polarization of the incident Gaussian beam. Different types of gratings and planes with straight or curvilinear grooves and elliptical, have been designed and built. The output pattern from a resonator using such a grating has been measured experimentally. We found that the elliptical grating generates the least distortion and cross-polarization. This result is attributed to the geometry of the grooves and is in excellent agreement with numerical calculations.

The field pattern of the resonator used in a quasi-optical gyrotron operating in the millimetre wave range is measured. Two resonators are studied: one composed of a spherical mirror and an ellipsoidal grating and the other symmetric using two mirrors with annular slots. The measurements indicate that the electric field distribution is gaussian, in spite of the complex geometry of the resonator, and thus provide an experimental basis for the assumption often used to compute the efficiency of quasi-optical gyrotrons.

A detailed description of the Langmuir probe electronics upgrade for TCV (Tokamak a Configuration Variable) is presented. The number of amplifiers and corresponding electronics has been increased from 48 to 120 in order to simultaneously connect all of the 114 Langmuir probes currently mounted in the TCV divertor and main-wall tiles. Another set of 108 amplifiers is ready to be installed in order to connect 80 new probes, built in the frame of the TCV divertor upgrade. Technical details of the amplifier circuitry are discussed as well as improvements over the first generation of amplifiers developed at SPC (formerly CRPP) in 1993/1994 and over the second generation developed in 2012/2013. While the new amplifiers have been operated successfully for over a year, it was found that their silicon power transistors can be damaged during some off-normal plasma events. Possible solutions are discussed. (C) 2019 Author(s).

Electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH) has proven to be one of the most attractive heating schemes for stellarators. Therefore, ECRH was chosen to be the main heating method for the Wendelstein 7-X stellarator (W7-X) now under construction at IPP Greifswald, Germany. A 10 MW ECRH system with continuous wave (CW) possibilities, operating at 140 GHz will be built up to meet the scientific goals of the stellarator. Two prototype gyrotrons with an output power of I MW were developed in collaboration between European research laboratories and European industry (Thales Electron Devices, France). The gyrotrons are equipped with a single-stage depressed collector, an optimised quasi-optical mode converter and a CVD-diamond window. The prototypes have been successfully tested at FZK. With the second one, an output power of 0.89 MW at a pulse duration of 3 min and an output power of 0.54 MW for about 15 min have been obtained. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

We have performed this work again.

The European Gyrotron Consortium (EGYC) is developing the European 1 MW, 170 GHz Continuous Wave (CW) industrial prototype gyrotron for ITER in cooperation with Thales Electron Devices (TED) and Fusion for Energy (F4E). This conventional, hollow-cavity gyrotron, is based on the 1 MW, 170 GHz Short-Pulse (SP) modular gyrotron that has been designed and manufactured by the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in collaboration with TED. Both gyrotrons have been tested successfully in multiple experiments. In this work we briefly report on the results with the CW gyrotron at KIT and we focus at the experiments at the Swiss Plasma Center (SPC). In addition, we present preliminary results from various upgrades of the SP tube that are currently tested at KIT.

An over-moded evacuated waveguide line was chosen for use in the transmission system for the proposed JET enhanced performance project (JET-EP) electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH) system. A comparison between the quasi-optical, atmospheric waveguide and evacuated waveguide systems was performed for the project with a strong emphasis placed on the technical and financial aspects. The evacuated waveguide line was chosen as the optimal system in light of the above criteria. The system includes six lines of 63.5 mm waveguide for transmitting 6.0 MW(10 s) at 113.3 GHz from the gyrotrons to the launching antenna. The designed lines are on average 72 m in length and consist of nine mitre bends, for an estimated transmission efficiency of similar to90%. Each line is designed to include an evacuated switch leading to a calorimetric load, two do breaks, two gate valves, one pumpout tee, a power monitor mitre bend and a double-disc CVD window near the torus. The location of waveguide support is positioned to minimize the power converted to higher-order modes from waveguide sagging and misalignment. The two gate valves and CVD window are designed to be used as tritium barriers at the tot-us and between the J1T and J1D buildings. The last leg of the waveguide leading to the torus has to be designed to accommodate the torus movement during disruptions and thermal cycles. All lines are also designed to be compatible with the ITER ECRH system operating at 170 GHz.

On the Tokamak a Configuration Variable (TCV), electron internal transport barriers (eITBs) can be formed during a gradual evolution from a centrally peaked to a hollow current profile while all external actuators are held constant. The formation occurs rapidly (

This paper presents experimental results on the accessibility and the properties of plasmas with improved confinement in TCV. First, the H-mode threshold power is measured in Ohmic plasmas. Above an Ohmic threshold density, the threshold power increases with the density. A lower threshold density is found when additional electron cyclotron heating (ECH) is applied. At these low densities, the threshold power increases dramatically with decreasing density. Only a small fraction of the wide operational domain leading to the Ohmic H-mode is found to lead to a stationary regime with edge localized modes (ELMs). The ELMs have an irregular frequency, but in TCV they can be triggered by an external magnetic perturbation that induces a rapid vertical movement of the plasma. With this perturbation, the ELM frequency can be increased. The ELM triggering mechanism is provided by the vertical movement of the plasma away from the X-point of a single null configuration. This movement induces a positive current at the plasma edge, and we deduce that the ELMs are being controlled by this modification of the plasma edge current. Electron internal transport barriers (eITBs) are produced deep in the plasma during the stationary phase of TCV discharges. Different scenarios of ECH or selectron cyclotron current drive (ECCD) at different radial locations have been used to obtain eITBs with and without inductively driven current. The eITBs are characterized by steep electron temperature gradients, high confinement improvement and a large fraction of bootstrap current. In plasmas with fully non-inductively driven current the size and the strength of the eITB are controlled by the location of the power deposition and by the co- or counter-direction of the central ECCD. Finally, a small inductive perturbation of an otherwise non-inductively driven plasma current profile progressively shrinks the eITB, confirming the link between current profiles and eITBs.

Electron beam instabilities occurring in a gyrotron electron beam can induce an energy spread which might significantly deteriorate the gyrotron efficiency. Three types of instabilities are considered to explain the important discrepancy found between the theoretical and experimental efficiency in the case of quasi-optical gyrotrons (QOG): the electron cyclotron maser instability (ECMI), the electrostatic Bernstein instability (BI) and the Langmuir instability (LI). When the magnetic field gradient in drift tubes of QOG is low, the ECMI can develop in the drift tube at very low electron beam currents. Experimental measurements show that with a proper choice of absorbing structures in the beam tunnel, this instability can be suppressed. At high beam currents, the BI can induce a significant energy spread at the entrance of the interaction region. The induced energy spread scales approximately linearly with the electron beam density and for QOG one observes that the beam density is significantly higher than the beam density of an equivalent cylindrical cavity gyrotron. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics. [S1070-664X(98)01906-5]

In a multi-gyrotron system such as the one presently designed for the ITER ECH & ECCD system, stray magnetic fields can significantly alter the operational capabilities of the global system. A numerical study was carried out within the European Gyrotron Consortium (EGYC) to assess the importance of the different effects and their impact on the gyrotron operation. Using the Ariadne++ 3D code, and based on the geometrical layout of the ITER-EC system, the effect of the ITER stray magnetic field combined together with the stray field generated by neighboring gyrotrons on the electron beam parameters was considered. It is shown that these effects are important in the gyrotron collector regions in particular for gyrotrons located at the edges of the ITER EC system. The effect of ferromagnetic structure materials was studied using the finite element software package COMSOL Multiphyics. This study was simplified by considering the effect of only one realistic I-beam placed at different distances and orientations with respect to a single gyrotron. It is shown that, with the present geometrical layout of the ITER EC-system, the effects due to ferromagnetic material are negligible.