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Since the 2018 IAEA FEC Conference, FTU operations have been devoted to several experiments covering a large range of topics, from the investigation of the behaviour of a liquid tin limiter to the runaway electrons mitigation and control and to the stabilization of tearing modes by electron cyclotron heating and by pellet injection. Other experiments have involved the spectroscopy of heavy metal ions, the electron density peaking in helium doped plasmas, the electron cyclotron assisted start-up and the electron temperature measurements in high temperature plasmas. The effectiveness of the laser induced breakdown spectroscopy system has been demonstrated and the new capabilities of the runaway electron imaging spectrometry system for in-flight runaways studies have been explored. Finally, a high resolution saddle coil array for MHD analysis and UV and SXR diamond detectors have been successfully tested on different plasma scenarios.

Determining plasma parameters in low-density, low-temperature, weakly ionized, magnetised plasmas can be challenging, especially when using in-house-built Langmuir probes that may perturb the plasma. Radial profiles along the plasma column in such conditions present further challenges, not only because the densities evanesce at the edges, but also because of the presence of magnetic fields that may significantly affect the measurements. The analysis is presented here of radial profiles in pure argon and pure helium plasmas obtained using in-house-built Langmuir probes. The study was done in detail not only to obtain plasma parameter profiles, but also to gain an insight into the relevant physical mechanisms in the operating conditions of interest. Results from a plasma model were used to complement the analysis together with qualitative observations from resulting electron energy distribution functions. The main conclusions are: profiles obtained with the plasma model closely represent those obtained from Langmuir probe data, with irregularities qualitatively explained using electron density profiles obtained with Druyvesteyn and first derivative methods; plasma densities and electron currents are sufficiently small that no diamagnetic effects are evident; the strong magnetisation of the electrons is evident from the resulting characteristic Bessel-type density profiles.

A research activity in the Institute for Plasma Science and Technology of National Research Council (ISTP-CNR, Italy, former IFP-CNR) and in L.T. Calcoli (LTC, Italy) is aimed at the design and construction of calorimetric loads for absorption and measurement of high power millimeter-waves in the electron cyclotron frequency range. Recently, two CW 170 GHz loads, one for the European ITER gyrotron test facility and the other for the FALCON test- bed, have been installed at the Swiss Plasma Center (SPC, Switzerland). One short pulse (2 s) load for 1 MW, designed and optimised to operate at two different frequencies (84 GHz and 126 GHz), was provided for testing and conditioning two new dual-frequency gyrotrons for the Tokamak a Configuration Variable (TCV, Switzerland). Two additional CW loads, designed for absorbing powers higher than 1 MW, have been delivered to the National Institutes for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology (QST, Japan) and exploited for the acceptance tests and the conditioning of the prototype of the Japanese ITER gyrotron. The present status and the most recent experimental results achieved in the framework of this development activity are reported in the paper.

The evidence of Parametric Decay Instabilities (PDI) excited by the ECH power injected in O-Mode has been explored in FTU Tokamak, using the Collective Thomson Scattering (CTS) diagnostic. The experiments show evidences to support the hypothesis of low-threshold excitation of waves generated by PDI mechanisms, formerly proposed in the case of 2nd harmonic X-mode injection in TEXTOR and ASDEX-U. Theoretical analysis predicts low-threshold parametric decay also for O-mode pump-wave injection, which can be injected in FTU at frequencies close to the first Harmonic EC resonance. Experiments were made at different magnetic fields, injecting the 140 GHz probe and observing the emission from the second antenna of the EC launcher in poloidally symmetric and asymmetric configurations, in presence of MHD islands. The signal is detected by the CTS radiometers, with a fast digitizer allowing the spectral reconstruction at very fine time and frequency scales. Different types of emissions are studied in detail, comparing them with the magnetic island rotation frequency in different plasma conditions. In order to locate the plasma volume originating the emissions, a new antenna and receiving line has been installed.

The future EC systems will consist of several gyrotron sources providing MW-level millimeter wave power at a frequency around or above 170 GHz. The development of matched loads is necessary to test the new sources, the components for the transmission lines and the launchers, and must ensure high qualification for compatibility with the nuclear environment. The development at IFP-CNR and LTC of several compact high-power prototypes during the last decade led to a refinement of the overall design, resulting in the present low-reflectivity vacuum-compatible loads. The activity on loads is supported by F4E in view of the development of the EU gyrotron for ITER and required high-power tests at QST (Naka, Japan). Qualification is now supported by new tests at SPC (Lausanne, Switzerland) using the FALCON test-bed designed to test components and the EU gyrotron prototype for the EC system of ITER. These high-power tests, performed on the first CW prototype load (provided with 16 + 16 cooling channels in parallel) and shown in this paper, highlighted the need to improve the mechanical, vacuum and hydraulic design to reach the final goal of 1000s at ∼1 MW.

In this contribution we present the results obtained during nitrogen seeding experiments performed in GyM. The aim of the experiments was to evaluate the variation of ammonia (ND3) formation in the presence of helium (He). Control of experimental conditions was performed by means Langmuir probe (LP) measurements. By Optical Emission Spectroscopy (OES), have been acquired spectra centred at about 336 nm, in this region falls the emission band of the ND radical, used as indicator of the ND3 production. ND3 formation during experiments has been followed by measures of the Residual Gas Analysis (RGA). ND3 quantification was achieved by operations involving the collection of the exhaust in LN2 trap and liquid ion chromatography (LIC) analysis. Results showed that increasing amounts of He added to a nitrogen seeding plasmas produces a proportional decrease in ND3 while the plasma parameters are not modified.

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A new ECRH launcher mainly aimed at experiments on MHD stabilization has been recently installed in FTU and integrated with a Real Time controller. The new plug-in antenna is capable of injecting two beams over wide angular ranges, ±40 in toroidal and ±15 < θ < 44 in poloidal direction with fast mirror speed. The power is delivered to the launcher with two additional transmission lines (TL) connected to the existing ECRH system with remotely controlled switches. After the optical alignment of the TLs, a campaign of tests on the steering antenna was made with the launcher ex- and in-vessel. A procedure to calibrate the absolute mirror angular position was developed and successfully used. First high power pulses were carried out on plasma target delivering 2 × 0.3 MW EC power for 200 ms. © 2013 CNR-IFP Instituto di Fisica Plasma.

The Collective Thomson Scattering (CTS) diagnostic on FTU tokamak was renewed for investigations on the excitation of Parametric Decay Instabilities (PDI) by Electron Cyclotron (EC) beams in presence of magnetic islands and their effects on the EC absorption. Experiments were performed launching a gyroton probe beam (140 GHz, 400 kW) and receiving the CTS beam in symmetric and asymmetric configurations with respect to the equatorial plane, in different conditions of plasma density and magnetic field (with or without the EC resonance in the plasma), and with magnetic islands generated by Neon injection. The acquisition with a fast digitizer allowed observing spectral features with very high time and frequency resolution. In the shots performed at 7.2 T, with the fundamental EC resonance out of the plasma region, a sequence of faint lines emitted with a fast temporal evolution have been observed in a range 0.5-1.1 GHz from the gyrotron frequency while at 4.7 T, with the resonance on the high field side of the plasma column, asynchronous "bursts" of continuous emissions were observed at a microsecond time scale. In 2015 and 2016 experiments were performed at 4.7 T and 3.6 T, in this last case with the plasma between the first and the second EC harmonics both lying outside the plasma volume. Different types of spectral features with a fast evolution were observed. Their correlation with magnetic probes and other fast signals from the plasma has been investigated, to characterize the observations and exclude parasitic effects, as well as breakdown phenomena in front of the antennas. The variation in the stray radiation distribution in the vessel has been studied with the aid of a diffusive model, to characterize variations on the probe beam absorption associated to the observed phenomena. The latest experiments, with a diagnostic improved both in frequency band (up to ±4.2 GHz from the probe) and with the addition of a second radiometer, are allowing a clearer interpretation of the emissions.

The new collective Thomson scattering diagnostic installed on the Frascati Tokamak Upgrade device started its first operations in 2014. The ongoing experiments investigate the presence of signals synchronous with rotating tearing mode islands, possibly due to parametric decay processes, and phenomena affecting electron cyclotron beam absorption or scattering measurements. The radiometric system, diagnostic layout, and data acquisition system were improved accordingly. The present status and near-term developments of the diagnostic are presented. © 2016 EURATOM.

During the last years anomalous signals have been found in the spectra analyzed with the Collective Thomson Scattering (CTS) diagnostics in tokamak devices like TEXTOR, ASDEX and FTU. The signal frequency, down-shifted with respect to the probing one, suggested the explanation of their origin in terms of Parametric Decay Instability (PDI) processes correlated with the presence of magnetic islands and taking place even for values of the pumping wave power below the threshold predicted by conventionalmodels. A threshold lower or comparable with the power levels routinely used could pose limitations to the use of the ECRH in fusion devices. An accurate characterization of the conditions for the occurrence of this phenomenon and of its consequences is thus of primary importance. The CTS diagnostics of FTU has been recently improved for this aim with a new fast data acquisition, allowing spectra reconstruction by direct FFT of the intermediate frequency signal, added in parallel to the pre-existing multichannel spectrum analyzer. A section with polarizing mirrors has been introduced in the quasi-optical transmission line to control the polarization of the received signals. Exploiting the front-steering configuration available with the real-Time launcher of FTU, the setup allows studying the anomalous emissions in conditions of density and wave injection similar to ITER. Given the possibility of the CTS in FTU to operate in both O-and X-mode, a second radiometer is being installed, to detect simultaneously signals scattered in both polarizations. The upgrades mentioned above are presented in this work as well as the first data obtained in 2014, during the experimental activity carried out under an EUROfusion Enabling Research project.

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The development of high power gyrotrons for plasma physics research needs properly matched calorimetric loads able to absorb and measure the power, which nowadays is foreseen to be as high as 2 MW during CW operations. To this end IFP/CNR has developed a family of matched loads useful in the mm-wave frequency band for applications ranging from a few ms to CW in pulse length. The different loads in the family, made of an integrating sphere with a partially reflecting coating on the inner wall, are characterized by having the same absorbing geometry for the incoming beam and a different heat removal system for the specific application. Some important advances have been recently achieved from the point of view of the uniformity of power distribution on the absorbing wall and of the load construction. With the high precision achieved in the coating thickness a better control of the heating power distribution is possible by proper shaping of the local reflectivity, in addition to the shaping of the mirror dispersing the input beam. A more sophisticated model describing the power distribution has been developed, taking into account a variable thickness of the absorbing coating, the proper shape of the spreading mirror, the frequency of the incoming radiation and the shape of the input beam. Lower coating thickness is shown to be preferable, for a given local reflectivity, from the point of view of a lower peak temperature and thermal stress. The paper describes a load with variable coating thickness along the meridian of the sphere, showing a uniform power deposition on the inner walls. The cooling pipe is completely electroformed on the spherical copper shell, ensuring the maintenance of the correct curvature of the inner surface and fast heat conduction from the absorbing coating to the water through the thin copper body. For CW use all heated parts of the load must be cooled and this is achieved with 16 electroformed spiral channels. Both short pulse loads (0.1–1 s) and the CW version at 2 MW, 170 GHz, are described in the paper. High power tests on short-pulse loads have been done using a double frequency gyrotron, 105 GHz/600 kW for 0.5 s and 140 GHz/800 kW for 1 s. Also a method for emulating 2 MW conditions while using 1 MW gyrotron has been applied to test the load to be used for the European 2 MW coaxial cavity gyrotron development programme.

An increased power handling of rf-beam loads is required by the development of high power gyrotrons for fusion research, as well as the achievement of full capability to work under vacuum conditions, which is imposed by the use of evacuated transmission lines. New techniques were developed at IFP/CNR, leading to two prototypes. One is capable of 1 MW CW operation, while the second one is designed for precise measurements at short-pulses (0.1 s) at higher peak power (2 MW). Preliminary tests at 140 GHz, high power and long pulse (500 kW, 10 s) were performed. (c) 2005 Published by Elsevier B.V.

High-frequency wave systems with high-power density launching capability have been the preferred choice to heat the Frascati Tokamak Upgrade (FTU) because of physics arguments (electron heating at ...

Anomalous emissions were found over the last few years in spectra of Collective Thomson Scattering (CTS) diagnostics in tokamak devices such as TEXTOR, ASDEX and FTU, in addition to real CTS signals. The signal frequency, down-shifted with respect to the probing one, suggested a possible origin in Parametric Decay Instability (PDI) processes correlated with the presence of magnetic islands and occurring for pumping wave power levels well below the threshold predicted by conventional models. A threshold below or close to the Electron Cyclotron Resonance Heating (ECRH) power levels could limit, under certain circumstances, the use of the ECRH in fusion devices. An accurate characterization of the conditions for the occurrence of this phenomenon and of its consequences is thus of primary importance. Exploiting the front-steering configuration available with the real-time launcher, the implementation of a new CTS setup now allows studying these anomalous emission phenomena in FTU under conditions of density and wave injection geometry that are more similar to those envisaged for CTS in ITER. The upgrades of the diagnostic are presented as well as a few preliminary spectra detected with the new system during the very first operations in 2014. The present work has been carried out under an EUROfusion Enabling Research project. A shorter version of this contribution is due to be published in PoS at: 1st EPS conference on Plasma Diagnostics © 2015 Istituto di Fisica del Plasma - CNR.

In this work results of the first D 2 /N 2 experiments in GyM, a linear device able to produce plasmas of interest for the ITER divertor ( n e 5 ⋅ 10 10 cm −3 , Te 5 eV, ion flux 3–5 ⋅ 10 20 m −2 s −1 ) are presented. Plasmas simulating a N-seeding scenario have been performed to evaluate ammonia formation and its effect on exposed W coatings. The presence of ND emission lines in the plasma can be correlated with the formation of ammonia, further directly detected and quantified by chromatography analysis of the exhaust. Four different W specimens were exposed in GyM to a plasma fluence of 8.78 ⋅ 10 23 m −2 . XPS analysis evidenced the formation of W x N y layers with nitrogen concentration in the range of 1–10% depending on the initial morphology and structure of the W samples. In all analyzed cases, nitrogen was bound and retained within the first 6 nm below the surface and no further diffusion of N into the bulk was observed.

For the electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH) system on the frascati tokamak upgrade (FTU), composed of four 0.5 MW gyrotrons pulsed for 0.5 s, two different calorimetric loads were designed to measure the mm-wave power at 140 GHz propagating either as a gaussian beam or as an HE(11) mode carried by an oversized corrugated waveguide. The first one, designed for low reflectivity and I MW power handling capability, is now routinely used for gyrotron testing, conditioning and optimization on the generator side of the transmission line at 500 kW, 0.5 s. The basic design of the load, with a substantial upgrading of the cooling system for adequate heat removal, has full CW operation capability. The other one, whose cylindrical shape allows positioning as a waveguide replacement, is occasionally used when tests on the transmitted power along the 40 m of waveguide are needed. The loads are described together with low power measurements of reflected radiation. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science BN. All rights reserved.

Barrier windows are critical components in electron cyclotron plasma heating/current drive (ECRH/ECCD) systems for fusion plasma experiments in which high frequency and high power microwave beams are used as additional heating or plasma profiles control. Even though material characteristics and thickness are chosen in order to reduce the absorbed power to a minimum, the window temperature is of major concern in high power, long pulse or CW operation. An infrared diagnostic device has been implemented on one of the boron nitride windows of the 140 GHz, 0.5 s, 0.5 MW per line ECRH system of the FTU tokamak. The evolution of the temperature of the barrier window can be monitored by acquisition of several IR emission profiles during the gyrotron pulse. Moreover, information on the beam pattern quality can be inferred. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science BN. All rights reserved.

The quasi-optical beam launching antenna for the Electron Cyclotron Resonance Heating (ECRH) experiment at 140 GHz, 1.6 MW to the plasma, on the Frascati Tokamak Upgrade (FTU) has been successfully exploited in experimental operations. It provides four beams 400 kW each, with independent poloidal and toroidal steering capability and a maximum power density of 60 kW/cm2 at the plasma edge. The beam radius in the plasma is ≈20 mm, allowing a very high localisation of the absorbed power. The main characteristics of the antenna are: • Four movable launching mirrors under vacuum, far from the plasma edge (no movable parts near the plasma). • Oblique toroidal injection capability at fixed angles obtained with reflections on two fixed stainless steel plates, gold plated, inserted at the sides of the port. • Vacuum gate separating the main vacuum from the appendix containing the two matching mirrors and the barrier window (for safety and maintenance). • All movements are transferred outside the vacuum chamber through bellows and linear displacement. Actuators and encoders are in air. • Full capability to adjust small movements of the machine during cool-down and warm-up, preserving the alignment. Pattern measurements at low power before installation were performed to characterise the effects of the real system on the ideal shape and the polarisation of the launched beams, with particular attention to diffraction effects. Final control of the shape of the beams and the alignment of the mirrors in the system is performed after installation, under vacuum and with the tokamak at liquid nitrogen temperature, with the aid of a retractable probe and using a thermopile as the RF detector.

The biorthogonal decomposition analysis of signals from an array of Mirnov coils is able to provide the spatial structure and the temporal evolution of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) instabilities in a tokamak. Such analysis can be adapted to a data acquisition and elaboration system suitable for fast real time applications such as instability detection and disruption precursory markers computation. This paper deals with the description of this technique as applied to the Frascati Tokamak Upgrade (FTU).

A real-time data acquisition and elaboration system is being implemented to control the new ECH launcher recently installed at FTU (Frascati Tokamak Upgrade). The system is aimed at controlling different kinds of magnetohydrodynamic instabilities, in particular the deleterious 312 and 211 (neoclassical) tearing modes, (N)TM, and the saw teeth period in order to prevent the seeding of NTMs. The complete system is presented here together with preliminary offline and real-time tests. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science. All rights reserved. (C) 2013 Published by Elsevier B.V.

The Electron Cyclotron (EC) fast launcher for real time control experiments has been installed on FTU and characterized to be fully integrated in a real-time MHD control module under development. The launcher scheme is based on a two module sys- tem, symmetric with respect to the equatorial plane of FTU, with a front steering concept and the launched beams are real-time controllable both in poloidal and toroidal directions. Specific design parameters, defined by the FTU MHD dynamics (typically island size and q profile changes), are the beam dimensions with zooming capabilities, the steering range and mirror speed with the most demanding requirement on poloidal speed of the Steering Mirror (SM) = 1 in 10 ms. A set of tests has been done to verify the system perfor- mance. High power tests of the launcher have been done on a 500 kA, 0.5 10 20 m -3 and 5.3 T plasma with 2 300 kW of EC power delivered to the plasma. The steering mechanism was tested under the automatic control system and showed a dynamic response in line with the requirements. Results of these tests will be presented in the paper.

A new electron cyclotron (EC) antenna for real time control experiments on FTU tokamak has been tested at IFP-CNR laboratory. mm-Wave characterization was performed at the operating frequency of 140 GHz with low power measurements, primarily to test the internal optics of the launcher in terms of focusing properties and beam directivity. The antenna is devoted to the injection of high power EC waves in different working configurations using a front steering setup. The beam direction is controlled with a fast mirror (steerable both toroidally and poloidally) and the available launching angles have been determined to fix the steering mirror working space. Beam dimension can also be controlled, using a sliding structure in the plug-in system, equipped with a focusing mirror that provides zooming capabilities. This paper contains results of low power tests performed on the antenna in order to characterize the launcher in its quasi-optical design. Beams are found to be slightly astigmatic (maximum ratio w(y)/w(x) = 1.1) and with an expected beam radius in the plasma ranging from 18.6 to 26.0 mm due to cited zooming effects. Additional beam patterns and linear scans of the launched mm-wave power for different injection angles have been measured, in some cases in realistic conditions (using a mock-up of the FTU port provided with metallic side-walls) to evaluate diffraction and beam truncation effects. (C) 2011 EURATOM ENEA - CNR - Association/Instituto di Fisica del Plasma. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

New FTU ohmic discharges with a liquid lithium limiter at I P = 0.7–0.75 MA, B T = 7 T and n e0 ⩾ 5 × 1020 m−3 confirm the spontaneous transition to an enhanced confinement regime, 1.3–1.4 times ITER-97-L, when the density peaking factor is above a threshold value of 1.7–1.8. The improved confinement derives from a reduction of electron thermal conductivity (χe) as density increases, while ion thermal conductivity (χi) remains close to neoclassical values. Linear microstability reveals the importance of lithium in triggering a turbulent inward flux for electrons and deuterium by changing the growth rates and phase of the ion-driven turbulence, while lithium flux is always directed outwards. A particle diffusion coefficient, D ∼ 0.07 m2 s−1, and an inward pinch velocity, V ∼ 0.27 m s−1, in qualitative agreement with Bohm–gyro-Bohm predictions are inferred in pellet fuelled lithized discharges. Radio frequency heated plasmas benefit from cleaner plasmas with edge optimized conditions. Lower hybrid waves penetration and current drive effects are clearly demonstrated at and above ITER densities thanks to a good control of edge parameters obtained by plasma operations with the external poloidal limiter, lithized walls and pellet fuelling. The electron cyclotron (EC) heating system is extensively exploited in FTU for contributing to ITER-relevant issues such as MHD control: sawtooth crash is actively controlled and density limit disruptions are avoided by central and off-axis deposition of 0.3 MW of EC power at 140 GHz. Fourier analysis shows that the density drop and the temperature rise, stimulated by modulated EC power in low collisionality plasmas are synchronous, implying that the heating method is the common cause of both the electron heating and the density drop. Perpendicularly injected electron cyclotron resonance heating is demonstrated to be more efficient than the obliquely injected one, reducing the minimum electric field required at breakdown by a factor of 3. Theoretical activity further develops the model to interpret high-frequency fishbones on FTU and other experiments as well as to characterize beta-induced Alfvén eigenmodes induced by magnetic islands in ohmic discharges. The theoretical framework of the general fishbone-like dispersion relation is used for implementing an extended version of the HMGC hybrid MHD gyrokinetic code. The upgraded version of HMGC will be able to handle fully compressible non-linear gyrokinetic equations and 3D MHD.

Since the 2012 IAEA-FEC Conference, FTU operations have been largely devoted to runaway electrons generation and control, to the exploitation of the 140GHz electron cyclotron (EC) system and to liquid metal limiter elements. Experiments on runaway electrons have shown that the measured threshold electric field for their generation is larger than predicted by collisional theory and can be justified considering synchrotron radiation losses. A new runaway electrons control algorithm was developed and tested in presence of a runaway current plateau, allowing to minimize the interactions with plasma facing components and safely shut down the discharges. The experimental sessions with 140GHz EC system have been mainly devoted to experiments on real-time control of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) instabilities using the new EC launcher with fast steering capability. Experiments with central EC injection have shown the onset of 3/2 and 2/1 tearing modes, while EC assisted breakdown experiments have been focused on ITER start-up issues, exploring the polarization conversion at reflection from inner wall and the capability to assure plasma start-up even in presence of a large stray magnetic field. A new actively cooled lithium limiter has been installed and tested. The lithium limiter was inserted in the scrape-off layer, without any damage to the limiter surface. First elongated FTU plasmas with EC additional heating were obtained with the new cooled limiter. Density peaking and controlled MHD activity driven by neon injection were investigated at different plasma parameters. A full real-time algorithm for disruption prediction, based on MHD activity signals from Mirnov coils, was developed exploiting a large database of disruptions. Reciprocating Langmuir probes were used to measure the heat flux e-folding length in the scrape-off layer, with the plasma kept to lay on thea internal limiter to resemble the ITER start-up phase. New diagnostics were successfully installed and tested, as a diamond probe to detect Cherenkov radiation produced by fast electrons and a gamma camera for runaway electrons studies. Laser induced breakdown spectroscopy measurements were performed under vacuum and with toroidal magnetic field, so demonstrating their capability to provide useful information on the surface elemental composition and fuel retention in present and future tokamaks, such as ITER. © 2015 EURATOM.

The paper describes experimental studies performed on the FTU tokamak on magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) instabilities and their active control by electron cyclotron (EC) heating and EC current drive (ECH/ECCD). It deals in particular with implementing of an automatic system that detects both the onset and localization of tearing modes and the localization of the EC power deposition and that is capable of actuating the stabilizing reaction with ECH/ECCD. The system is composed of a digital signal processor-based control unit to analyze electron temperature fluctuations (mostly from EC emission) and Mirnov coil data and to control gyrotron power supplies. The action is provided by an arrangement of four Gaussian beams at 140 GHz, coupling up to 1.6MW power in total. The detection/reaction system, successfully tested in the experiments described, is very fast since no mirror motion is foreseen. In fact, the Gaussian beams are preliminarily oriented in an array covering the whole region where the mode is expected, and only the one closest to the mode is switched on at its appearance. The measurement of the deposition layer ρ dep is performed by analyzing the transient response to modulated EC power. Different modulation waveforms are used, both periodic and pseudorandom, in order to select the most sensitive and fastest technique.

We first describe the improved receiving system of the diagnostic experiment of millimeter-wave collective Thomson scattering being run on the Frascati Tokamak Upgrade (FTU), and then discuss some peculiar problems and new operating procedures related to the investigation of strong anomalous spectra of nonthermal origin, many-orders-of-magnitude stronger than the ion thermal feature merged in them, systematically observed in the experimentation, and finally ascribed to a perturbation of the gyrotron that generates the probing beam. Arguments in favor of a more general valence of the solutions actuated for the specific case of FTU are finally given. (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics.

Experiments on real time control of magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) instabilities using injection of electron cyclotron waves (ECW) are being performed with a control system based on only three real time key items: an equilibrium estimator based on a statistical regression, a MHD instability marker (SVDH) using a three-dimensional array of pick-up coils and a fast ECW launcher able to poloidally steer the EC absorption volume with dρ/dt = 0.1/30 ms maximum radial speed. The MHD instability, usually a tearing mode with poloidal mode number m and toroidal mode number n such that m/n = 2/1 or 3/2 is deliberately induced either by neon gas injection or by a density ramp hitting the density limit. No diagnostics providing the radial localization of the instabilities have been used. The sensitivity of the used MHD marker allows to close the control loop solely on the effect of the actuator's action with little elaboration. The nature of the instability triggering mechanism in these plasma prevents that the stabilization lasts longer than the ECW pulse. However when the ECW power is switched on, the instability amplitude shows a marked sensitivity to the position of the absorption volume with an increase or decrease of its growth rate. Moreover the suppression of the dominant mode by ECRH performed at high plasma density even at relatively low power level facilitates the development of a secondary mode. This minimized set of control tools aim to explore some of the difficulties which can be expected in a fusion reactor where reduced diagnostic capabilities and reduced actuator flexibility can be expected. © 2015 EURATOM.

A compact matched load for high power gyrotron testing in ECRH plants for fusion research applications is in development, with the main goal of providing reflection-free absorption and fast calorimetric measurement of the millimeter-wave power, also at long pulse duration. It is based on the results of the tests at full power and pulse length (140 GHz, 0.5 Mw, 0.5 s) on similar loads installed on the ECRH plant of the FTU Tokamak in Frascati. Basically, the load is made of an integrating sphere in copper, with the inner wall covered by plasma spray with a mixture of lossy ceramics, providing an average wall reflectivity in the order of 40%. Absorbing material degradation, small-scale and large-scale damage patterns, caused by fatigue and long-term exposure to high power mm-wave, have been analyzed in detail, with the aim of improving the performances in terms of power handling capability and energy extraction efficiency. Physical-chemical analyses, performed on the original and on the degraded absorbing material, showed the effects of the mm-wave exposure. Damage patterns were recognized as interference of multiple reflections inside the load, with radiation accumulation close to the entrance port, as confirmed by a detailed numerical analysis. Increase in power and energy deposition capabilities require improvements of the present design in different areas:. - strategies for the mitigation of the different causes of non-homogeneous deposition;. - use of different plasma-sprayed materials as mm-wave absorbers. - improved cooling channel geometry with increased heat transfer rate to the cooling medium, for achieving 1MW-CW power capability.

High power gyrotron testing at long pulses is a necessary step in the development of mm-wave systems for fusion research. For this purpose a compact calorimetric load is being developed, with low overall reflectivity (< 5%) and aiming at 1 MW-CW capabilities, after the good performances of the loads (0.5 MW, 0.5 s per pulse) installed on the 140 GHz ECRH plant of the FTU Tokamak in Frascati. Tests at the same frequency but at higher power (0.7 MW, 1 s) and longer pulses (up to 2 s at 0.5 MW) on the ASDEX-Upgrade ECRH plant showed, after repeated exposures, damages on the absorbing layer, recognized as thermal effects due to the local enhancement of incident power: the effects visible near the entrance port are explained studying the superposition (with interference) of waves reflected inside the sphere. Samples of degraded and non-degraded coating have been analyzed with various techniques, revealing changes of the substrate's physical characteristics. Measurements of absorber temperature during and after the pulse, performed with an infrared detector looking directly into the load, allowed estimates of the peak temperature and thermal properties of the coating in the real working conditions. Improvements on power deposition, geometry and cooling are proposed, to be integrated in a new load design. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

The design of a compact matched load for high-power measurements and testing of gyrotrons and transmission lines in ECRH plants for fusion research applications is currently in an advanced phase. The aim is to provide more than 95% absorption and precise calorimetric measurement of the input power in CW. This work is based on the results of tests at high power and short pulse length (140 GHz, 0.5 MW, 0.5 s) on loads installed on the ECRH plant of the FTU Tokamak in Frascati. The loads consist basically of hollow spheres of copper with the inner wall covered by plasma-sprayed lossy ceramics. Tests at higher power and longer pulses on the ASDEX-Upgrade ECRH plant showed, after a number of successful pulses, progressive damage on the absorbing layer, marked by the appearance of electrical arcs. The absorber degradation, showing specific damage patterns, due to exposure to high-power millimetre waves, has been analysed in detail and strategies are proposed, in order to improve the power-handling capabilities and the energy extraction rate. New measurements of millimetric absorption and thermal conductivity have been performed on samples of different ceramics, for choosing the best absorbing layer.A modified expander mirror surface with a better deposition profile, numerically computed with a multi-reflection model of the sphere, is designed to avoid radiation accumulation close to the entrance port. Improved cooling channels, which in principle can exploit the increased heat transfer rate due to surface boiling, as used in high-performance cooling circuits such as plasma-facing components, will provide 1-MW CW power capability. In this paper, some technical solutions for the construction and the constraints on the allowable deformation during pulses are given.

Fusion-oriented devices using powerful source of electron cyclotron (EC) waves are subjected to high levels of RF-stray radiation. This radiation is potentially harmful for any object made of RF-absorbing material exposed to it. Special material or/and suitable techniques to scrambling the radiation could be needed, depending on the effective expected level of such radiation. Therefore arises the need for a reliable method to foresee the distribution and the level of the RF-stray radiation. A multi-modal antenna, with sensitivity approximately constant for any incoming linear polarization, with great radiating surface and low directivity has been developed. Its purpose is collecting 140 GHz stray radiation from FTU tokamak and Wendelstein 7-AS stellarator plasmas during ECRH and current drive experiments. Theoretical predictions for stray radiation levels are obtained by two different methods: a multiple ray tracing code developed for FTU and a multi-cell code, originally written for W7-X. Both codes have been applied to FTU geometry, resulting in a good agreement with the experimental data from the multi-modal antenna. Descriptions of the antenna design and of the results from both codes are presented. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Electron heating, profile control and current drive experiments are performed on FTU tokamak by using a four units EC system at 140, 2 MW total R.F. power. Each unit is composed by a gyrotron with 0.5 MW, 0.5 s pulse length capability, and an hybrid mirror/waveguide system allowing low-loss transmission of the millimeterwave power, with full control of the e.m. field polarization. FTU plasmas are illuminated from the low magnetic field side by four narrow gaussian beams, each one quasi-optically coupled to the correspondent waveguide. The launching system is capable of poloidal/toroidal beam steering through a set of tiltable in-vacuum mirrors, all placed outside the toroidal magnet. Up grading to 1 MW per line is under evaluation.

The 140GHz, 2MW, 0.5s ECRH system on FTU tokamak integrates closed waveguide transmission lines (≈30 m) with quasi optical systems at both ends for efficient coupling from the 4 gyrotrons to the 4 waveguides and from these to the plasma through a single access port. Poloidal and toroidal control of the beam’s launching angles and polarization is performed without movable components close to the plasma. Most of the components of each generation and transmission system were designed to operate at a power level higher than 0.5 MW, and a possible up-grade to a full 1 MW, 0.5 s capability is discussed.

A family of compact matched loads for high power millimeter wavelength beams absorption, good for atmospheric and vacuum operation, suited for CW (1MW) or short pulses (2MW, 0.ls) precise measurement has been designed to test high power gyrotrons. The common origin for members of this family is a toad developed for the ECRH FTU plant (140 GHz, 0.5 s, 0.5 MW) and successfully exploited. A CW version of the load has been built and used as absorber and bolometer for the high-power test of a remote steering launcher mock-up at 140 GHz. The high-power tests have been performed with powers up to 700 kW and pulse lengths of up to 10 seconds without limitation due to the load. An investigation of the gas emission properties of the load coating material at high temperature and under vacuum has been accomplished by means of high power deposition from an electron gun. Results from these tests are presented.

Beam absorbers play an important role both in electron cyclotron heating systems at high power and in millimeter-wave diagnostics that need a low level of stray or reflected power. In the first case short- and long-pulse loads are used, whose back-reflection can be kept within a few percent with proper techniques. In the second case, absorbers or scramblers are envisaged, to be put in hostile environments. At Istituto di Fisica del Plasma in Milan, a number of calorimetric loads have been developed, adopting several techniques for overall reflectivity reduction, which are suitable for beam sinking with calorimetric capability. They achieve a low overall reflectivity and high-power capability by a properly chosen power distribution in the absorbing wall provided by a dispersing mirror, by a smooth geometrical shape, by heat-resistant absorbing coatings of optimized thickness, and by accurate trapping of most of the escaping radiation with preload structures. Fundamental, when it becomes impossible to diffuse the incoming beam by the mirror alone, mostly because of side lobes at large angles, is the use of a newly developed phase-scrambling surface presented in this paper. It provides the necessary spreading, complementing all the other techniques into a set that can be helpful in designing millimeter-wave systems and diagnostics, in order to reduce spurious or unwanted signals.

Since the 2010 IAEA-FEC Conference, FTU has exploited improvements in cleaning procedures and in the density control system to complete a systematic exploration of access to high-density conditions in a wide range of plasma currents and magnetic fields. The line-averaged densities at the disruptive limit increased more than linearly with the toroidal field, while no dependence on plasma current was found; in fact, the maximum density of 4.3 × 10 20 m-3 was reached at B = 8 T even at the minimum current of 0.5 MA, corresponding to twice the Greenwald limit. The lack of plasma current dependence was due to the increase in density peaking with the safety factor. Experiments with the 140 GHz electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH) system were focused on the sawtooth (ST) period control and on the commissioning of a new launcher with real-time steering capability that will act as the front-end actuator of a real-time system for ST period control and tearing mode stabilization. Various ECRH and electron cyclotron current-drive modulation schemes were used; with the fastest one, the ST period synchronized with an 8 ms modulation period. The observed period variations were simulated using the JETTO code with a critical shear model for the crash trigger. The new launcher was of the plug-in type, allowing quick insertion and connection to the transmission line. Both beam characteristics and steering speed were in line with design expectation. Experimental results on the connection between improved coupling of lower hybrid waves in high-density plasmas and reduced wave spectral broadening were interpreted by fully kinetic, non-linear model calculations. A dual-frequency, time-of-flight diagnostic for the measurement of density profiles was developed and successfully tested. Fishbone-like instabilities driven by energetic electrons were simulated by the hybrid MHD-gyrokinetic XHMGC code. © 2013 IAEA, Vienna.