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We assess the magnetic field configuration in modern fusion devices by comparing experiments with the same heating power, between a stellarator and a heliotron. The key role of turbulence is evident in the optimized stellarator, while neoclassical processes largely determine the transport in the heliotron device. Gyrokinetic simulations elucidate the underlying mechanisms promoting stronger ion scale turbulence in the stellarator. Similar plasma performances in these experiments suggests that neoclassical and turbulent transport should both be optimized in next step reactor designs., source:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.127.225001, identifier:0000-0001-9585-5201

Experiments on the Large Helical Device with the injection of carbon pellets into discharges of low density have demonstrated a significant reduction of the ion heat conduction in the plasma core and an increase in the central ion temperature by a factor of up to 2. These results are interpreted in the framework of a transport model elaborated on the basis of those applied previously to explain the improvement in confinement by impurity seeding into the tokamak devices TEXTOR and JET. The calculations performed reproduce well the strong peaking of the ion temperature profile with increasing carbon density nZ and the consequent drop in the confinement as nZ exceeds a certain critical level. The importance of different elements in the model, such as braking of the main ion rotation by friction with impurity ones and the shape of the density profiles, are investigated. A qualitative assessment of the applicability under fusion reactor conditions, e.g. of much higher plasma density and heating power, is performed., source:M Z Tokar et al 2020 Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion 62 075008, source:https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6587/ab8ca2, identifier:0000-0002-9536-9841

Alignment of the quasi-optical millimeter wave antenna for the electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH) can be required even after the evacuation of the vacuum vessel in fusion oriented plasma experimental devices. We developed a molybdenum millimeter wave target tile and installed it as one of the protection tiles of the vacuum vessel wall of the Large Helical Device (LHD) on the opposite side of the ECRH antennas. Inside the target tile, a sheathed thermocouple is mounted to measure the temperature increase during the millimeter wave injection toward this tile. In magnetic field configurations where neither the first nor the second electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) exists, the measured temperature increased sufficiently to be detected by the millimeter wave injection of approximately 100 kW for 0.1 s toward the target tile. Under the assumption that the distance between the target point that brings the largest temperature increase and the target point just above the thermocouple head gives the offset of the target point to be corrected, the offset of the antenna injection angle was confirmed with an accuracy of 0.4° with changing the target point shot by shot., source:https://doi.org/10.1585/pfr.16.2405066, identifier:0000-0002-4541-1757

LHDGauss is a multi-ray tracing code to calculate microwave beam propagation and power deposition of electron cyclotron heating (ECH) using the electron density and electron temperature profiles in the Large Helical Device (LHD) plasma. LHDGauss also takes into account the injected wave polarization purity. LHDGauss uses the cold plasma dispersion to calculate ray propagation and derives the power absorption profile of ECH by using the absorption coefficient based on weakly relativistic plasmas and the wave propagating perpendicularly to the magnetic field. However, the ECH beam propagation is mainly oblique to the magnetic field in the LHD and it is necessary to take into account the angular dependence of the absorption coefficient in order to derive more accurate ECH power deposition profiles. We upgraded LHDGauss and were able to calculate the absorption coefficient using the weakly relativistic dielectric tensor which considers the influence of the angle between the magnetic field and the wave vector. We compared the power deposition profiles calculated by previous and upgraded LHDGauss with the changes of the electron temperature profile of the LHD plasma in the oblique and the perpendicular O1-mode ECH injection cases. We have obtained more reasonable power deposition profiles by using the upgraded LHDGauss in both the perpendicular and the oblique injection cases., source:https://doi.org/10.1585/pfr.16.2402084, identifier:0000-0002-4501-1956

In recent deuterium experiments on the large helical device (LHD), we succeeded in expanding the temperature domain to higher regions for both electron and ion temperatures. Suppression of the energetic particle driven resistive interchange mode (EIC) by a moderate electron temperature increase is a key technique to extend the high temperature domain of LHD plasmas. We found a clear isotope effect in the formation of the internal transport barrier in high temperature plasmas. A new technique to measure the hydrogen isotope fraction was developed in the LHD in order to investigate the behavior of the isotope mixing state. The technique revealed that the non-mixing and the mixing states of hydrogen isotopes can be realized in plasmas. In deuterium plasmas, we also succeeded in simultaneously realizing the formation of the edge transport barrier (ETB) and the divertor detachment. It is found that resonant magnetic perturbation plays an important role in the simultaneous formation of the ETB and the detachment. Contributions to fusion reactor development from the engineering point of view, i.e. negative-ion based neutral beam injector research and the mass balance study of tritium, are also discussed., source:https://doi.org/10.1088/1741-4326/ac3cda, identifier:0000-0001-5220-947X

Nanowire microfluidics using a combination of self-assembly and nanofabrication technologies is expected to be applied to various fields due to its unique properties. We have been working on the fabrication of nanowire microfluidic devices and the development of analytical methods for biomolecules using the unique phenomena generated by the devices. The results of our research are not just limited to the development of nanospace control with “targeted dimensions” in “targeted arrangements” with “targeted materials/surfaces” in “targeted spatial locations/structures” in microfluidic channels, but also cover a wide range of analytical methods for biomolecules (extraction, separation/isolation, and detection) that are impossible to achieve with conventional technologies. Specifically, we are working on the extraction technology “the cancer-related microRNA extraction method in urine,” the separation technology “the ultrafast and non-equilibrium separation method for biomolecules,” and the detection technology “the highly sensitive electrical measurement method.” These research studies are not just limited to the development of biomolecule analysis technology using nanotechnology, but are also opening up a new academic field in analytical chemistry that may lead to the discovery of new pretreatment, separation, and detection principles.

A feasibility study for measuring a deuterium-deuterium (D-D) fusion reaction radial profile by promptly lost D-D fusion born 3 MeV protons, whose energy Larmor radius is the same as the minor radius of CFQS, was performed. The Lorentz orbit code was utilized to estimate the predicted signals of collimated proton detectors using the D-D fusion radial profile calculated by the analytical Fokker-Planck code for steady-state plasma FIT3D-DD code. The inversion of the D-D fusion profile using the estimated signals was performed using a linear matrix solution library. The coarse agreement between input and inverted profiles shows the possibility of D-D fusion profile diagnostics by a 3 MeV proton in CFQS., source:http://www.jspf.or.jp/PFR/PFR_articles/pfr2022/pfr2022_17-2402012.html

In the Large Helical Device, the divertor detachment has been attempted by application of resonant magnetic perturbation (RMP) field and Ne gas puffing in electron cyclotron resonance- heated discharges for compatibility of high central electron temperature and low divertor heat load. Two kinds of divertor detachment phases were observed. The first one appeared transiently just after the Ne gas puffing (1st detachment), and the second one appeared steadily in the latter half of the discharge (2nd detachment). Space-resolved extreme ultraviolet spectroscopy revealed that NeVI-NeVIII emissions increased slightly outside the last closed flux surface (LCFS), while NeIX and NeX emissions increased inside the LCFS in the 1st detachment phase. Although in the 1st detachment the divertor heat load was significantly reduced, the central electron temperature also decreased because the Ne ions were penetrated inside the LCFS as a radiation source. In the 2nd detachment phase, NeVI-NeVIII emissions increased outside the LCFS while NeIX and NeX emissions kept low intensity inside the LCFS. In this phase, low divertor heat load and high central electron temperature were obtained simultaneously because the Ne ions were localized outside the LCFS as a radiation source. The profile measurements of Ne emission show that the edge island structure created by the RMP application impacts on the impurity emission distribution, where the peak of the emission shifts radially stepwise as the detachment proceeds., source:https://doi.org/10.1585/pfr.17.2402022, identifier:0000-0002-1171-8603

A database of the total neutron emission rate (Sn) in the ion cyclotron range of frequency (ICRF) heated deuterium plasma in the Large Helical Device (LHD) was developed with changing the ICRF injection power and electron density. The Sn measured in the experiment was compared with the neutron emission rate calculated by the thermal reactivity of deuterium plasma to predict Sn in long-pulse discharge and to understand the heating scheme of ICRF. The ratio of Sn evaluated by calculation and that by measurement in the electron cyclotron heating (ECH) and ICRF heating case has almost the same tendency as that of the ECH only case in which energetic deuterons are not expected. In the first campaign of deuterium ICRF plasma discharge with injection power up to 1.5 MW, neutron emission with regard to the ICRF tail deuteron was thought to be negligible. We expanded the Sn database and started building an Sn prediction code to perform a long-pulse deuterium discharge., source:https://doi.org/10.1585/pfr.15.1202088, identifier:0000-0002-5364-805X

The world's first quasi-axisymmetric stellarator, CFQS, is now under construction. The CFQS will be dedicated to studies on the interaction between flow and turbulence, and confinement improvement by suppression of turbulence in connection with proof-of-principle experiment of quasi-axisymmetry. In order to conduct this experimental research, a heavy ion beam probe (HIBP) system is planned to be installed and utilized to measure the radial electric field and its fluctuation in a CFQS plasma. In this paper, an orbit calculation for a probe beam is performed to verify feasibility of the HIBP in the CFQS. The required beam energy, possible ion species, and the observable region in a CFQS plasma are investigated. The beam attenuation by a CFQS plasma is also estimated for different beam ion species. If we use 133Cs+ as a primary probe beam, the required beam energy is expected to be 30∼50 keV, which is relatively easy to handle. In this case the beam attenuation, evaluated by the ratio between the injected and detected beam currents, is 10−3∼10−2 in a CFQS plasma with a line-averaged electron density of <1.0 × 1019 m−3. For a higher density plasma, usage of 85Rb+ is better in terms of low-beam-attenuation, and a high signal-to-noise ratio. The HIBP in the CFQS will provide a great opportunity to study physics experimentally, related to the radial electric field, poloidal flow, and turbulence suppression., source:A. Shimizu et al 2022 JINST 17 C06004, source:https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-0221/17/06/C06004, identifier:0000-0003-3764-3184

An indirect effect of the electron cyclotron current drive (ECCD) on the ion temperature in the plasma core region was observed in the Large Helical Device. The reference (no ECCD) discharge with a central ion temperature Ti0 of ∼3.0 keV is operated by a standard high ion temperature discharge procedure. To investigate the ECCD effect, a co- or counter-ECCD was applied to the reference discharge, and was turned off immediately before the Ti0 peaked in the reference discharge. In the co-ECCD and counter-ECCD applications, the Ti0 temporarily increased and decreased by ∼0.5 keV from Ti0 in the reference discharge, respectively. The mechanism of this phenomenon is presently unclear, but may be exploited as a practical knob for controlling the central ion temperature., source:https://doi.org/10.1585/pfr.13.1402124, identifier:0000-0001-6744-1829

A mode analysis technique of the millimeter-wave which propagates in the corrugated waveguide of the electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH) transmission line is proposed. The technique is based on the signals detected by beam-profile monitors (BPMs) developed and installed in the reflection plane mirror of the miterbends in the ECRH transmission line. The developed BPM consists of a mirror plate, Peltier-device array, and a heat-sink. The voltage signal of each Peltier device is related with the temperature of the mirror surface. The program which can analyze propagating-mode components using these signals is developed. The possibility of the propagating mode analyses using this code was confirmed using the artificially synthesized model data on the miterbend reflector., source:https://doi.org/10.1585/pfr.13.3405036, identifier:0000-0002-8709-2491

Ion internal transport barrier (ITB) was formed in both hydrogen discharge and helium dominated discharge. The central ion temperature was investigated as a function of the hydrogen density ratio (nH/(nH+nHe)). The central ion temperature increases with the decrease of the hydrogen density ratio, while the electron temperature does not change significantly. The experimentally observed ion temperature was not reproduced by the prediction of TASK-3D modeling. The dominant activity in the density fluctuation measured by the phase contrast imaging is consistent with ion temperature gradient mode and they are almost identical between the hydrogen dominated and helium dominated plasmas., source:https://doi.org/10.1585/pfr.11.2402106, identifier:0000-0002-5892-6047

With the use of the density scale length and the magnetic field strength around the O-X mode conversion region in the LHD for 77 GHz EC waves, the full wave calculations by the TASK/WF2D code have been performed. The wave patterns obtained by full wave calculation have been compared with the trajectories obtained by multi ray tracing calculations. For the X-mode and the O-mode reflected near each cutoff, wave patterns obtained by full wave calculations and trajectories obtained by multi ray-tracing correspond to each other well. On the contrary, trajectories of the rays restarted at the high field side of the evanescent region between the plasma and the left handed cutoffs do not cover fully the wave patterns after the O-X mode conversion obtained by full wave calculations. Improvement of the manner to restart the ray-tracing is required. This improvement can provide a more precise view of the propagation of the EBWs and may contribute to examining scenarios for electron Bernstein wave heating., source:https://doi.org/10.1585/pfr.11.2403098, identifier:0000-0002-4541-1757

Two-dimensional potential fluctuation profiles were measured with the heavy ion beam probe (HIBP) on the Large Helical Device. For two-dimensional measurements with HIBP, the probe beam energy had to be changed, and subtle adjustment of the beam trajectory along the long beam transport line (∼20 m) was required. An automatic beam adjustment system was developed for the beam transport line, and used to easily adjust the probe beam trajectory. Potential fluctuations in the high-frequency range (∼200 kHz) were measured, and the probe beam energy was changed shot to shot. Two-dimensional potential phase structures were successfully obtained by analyzing the coherence between potential and magnetic field fluctuation, which is used as a reference signal., source:https://doi.org/10.1585/pfr.11.2402123, identifier:0000-0003-3764-3184

FIT3D-DD code, which is a neutron emission and heating efficiency evaluation code based on a simple analytical solution of the Fokker-Planck equation, was applied to deuterium Chinese first quasi-axisymmetric stellarator (CFQS) plasmas heated by a deuterium neutral beam injector. A database of the neutron emission rate due to the beam-bulk D-D fusion reaction in the CFQS was created with the electron temperature and density, which were evaluated from the energy confinement time using ISS04 scaling. The neutron emission rate increases monotonically with the increase in the electron temperature and density. The neutron emission rate is expected to be up to ∼2.7 × 1012 [n/s] for an electron density of less than 4 × 1019 m−3., source:https://doi.org/10.1585/pfr.17.2403063, identifier:0000-0002-5364-805X

Real-time polarization scan experiments were performed on the Large Helical Device (LHD) to search an optimal incident wave polarization for electron cyclotron resonance heating. The obtained optimal polarization state to maximize the power absorption to the LHD plasma is compared with the ray-tracing code that includes mode content analyses, which indicates that the calculated results are generally in good agreement with the experimental results. The analyses show that optimal coupling to plasma waves requires a fine adjustment for an incident wave polarization even for perpendicular injection due to the finite density profile and the magnetic shear at the peripheral region., source:https://doi.org/10.1585/pfr.11.2402016, identifier:0000-0002-2983-5920

For optimization of electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH), it is important to measure power and polarization states of injected millimeter-waves in real-time. Arbitrary polarization states of millimeter-waves are realized by two grating mirror polarizers set at miter-bends in the corrugated waveguide transmission system on the Large Helical Device (LHD). The polarization state of an injected millimeter-wave determines the mode excitation purity, and therefore the power absorption efficiency in plasmas. The real-time power/polarization monitor of the injected millimeter-wave is required for optimization and/or feedback control of ECRH. The real-time power/polarization monitor is under development to be installed on a miter-bend near the ECRH antenna on LHD. Amplitudes and phases of two orthogonal polarizations of injected millimeter-waves are measured to determine the power and polarization states of waves. In this paper, the design and performance test of the real-time power/polarization monitor are reported. Intensities and relative phase of two orthogonal polarizations are measured by a newly developed monitor with heterodyne interferometer and fast ADC (800 MHz) with FPGA. Hardware of the power/polarization monitor works as designed qualitatively., source:https://doi.org/10.1585/pfr.9.3405024

A decrease in the electron density is observed during high-power heating, particularly in electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH). One possible mechanism is the increase in the number of trapped particles, which can enhance the radial particle flux, because ECRH accelerates electrons in a direction perpendicular to the magnetic field lines. To observe the effects of the production of trapped particles, high-power (1 MW) ECRH was applied at the ripple bottom of the magnetic field strength, where trapped particles are readily produced. A rapid local outward flux of electrons was first observed near the heating position shortly after ECRH injection. The outward flux is proportional to the electron density in the density range of 0.4 × 1019 to 0.8 × 1019 m−3. The inward electron flux was subsequently enhanced in the core region., source:https://doi.org/10.1585/pfr.8.2402115

To establish a method for suppressing the spurious radiation that interferes with collective Thomson scattering measurements with less degradation of the main mode output power, the frequency evolution, and the output power of the megawatt 77-GHz gyrotron were measured during operation under optimized parameters. According to a mode competition calculation, the main mode output power may be increased by setting a lower gyrotron anode voltage at a higher magnetic field strength in the gyrotron resonator. Although the output power increased from 300 kW to 530 kW without any spurious radiation when the optimized operational parameters were used, the output power was about 50% of that at a lower magnetic field strength, and thus the output pulse width was limited to 60 ms. When an approach using the optimized operational parameters and a PIN switch was applied, the output power increased to 800 kW without any harmful spurious radiation effect and the pulse width was expanded to 2 s., source:https://doi.org/10.1585/pfr.8.2402069

In this paper, the background physics of the isotope effects in the ion internal transport barrier (ITB) are discussed in detail. An heuristic criterion for the ITB strength is defined based on the nonlinear dependence of the ion thermal diffusivity on the local ion temperature in the L-mode phase. Comparing deuterium plasmas and hydrogen plasmas, two isotope effects on the ion ITB are clarified: stronger ITBs formed in the deuterium plasmas and an ITB concomitant edge confinement degradation in the hydrogen plasmas. Principal component analysis reveals that the ion ITB becomes strong when a high input power normalized by the line averaged electron density is applied and electron density profile is peaked. A gyrokinetic simulation suggests that the ITB profile is determined by the ion temperature gradient driven turbulence, while the way the profile saturates in L-mode plasmas is unknown. In the electron density turbulence behavior, a branch transition is observed, where the increasing trend in turbulence amplitude against the ITB strength is flipped to a decreasing trend across the ITB formation. The radial electric field structure is measured by the charge exchange recombination spectroscopy system. It is found that the radial electric field shear plays a minor role in determining the ITB strength., source:T. Kobayashi et al 2021 Nucl. Fusion 61 126013, source:https://doi.org/10.1088/1741-4326/ac298f, identifier:0000-0001-5669-1937