High Power Gyro-Devices for Plasma Heating and Other Applications

Gyrotron oscillators are mainly used as high power millimeter wave sources for electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH), electron cyclotron current drive (ECCD), stability control and diagnostics of magnetically confined plasmas for generation of energy by controlled thermonuclear fusion. The maximum pulse length of commercially available 1 MW gyrotrons employing synthetic diamond output windows is 5 s at 110 GHz (CPI and JAERI-TOSHIBA), 12 s at 140 GHz (FZK-CRPP-CEA-TED) and 10 s at 170 GHz (GYCOM and JAERI-TOSHIBA), with efficiencies slightly above 30%. Total efficiencies of 45–50 % have been obtained using single-stage depressed collectors (SDC). The energy world record of 160 MJ (0.89 MW at 180 s pulse length and 140 GHz) at power levels higher than 0.8 MW has been achieved by the European FZK-CRPP-CEA-TED collaboration at FZK. Operation at the 1^st and the 2^nd harmonic of the EC frequency enables gyrotrons to act as medium power step-tunable mm- and sub-mm wave sources in the frequency range from 38 GHz (fundamental) to 889 GHz (2nd harmonic) for plasma diagnostics, EC plasma discharges for generation of multi-charged ions, high-frequency broadband electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy and medical applications. Gyrotrons have also been successfully used in materials processing. Such technological applications require gyrotrons with the following parameters: f 24 GHz, P_out = 4–50 kW, CW, 30%. Future applications which await the development of novel high-power gyro-amplifiers include high resolution radar ranging and imaging in atmospheric and planetary science as well as deep-space and specialized satellite communications and RF drivers for next-generation high-gradient linear accelerators (supercolliders). The present paper reviews the state-of-the-art and future prospects of gyro-devices and their applications.     

Numerical Analysis of Weakly Relativistic Large Orbit Gyrotron with Permanent Magnet System

High-harmonic gyro-devices with axis-encircling electron beams known as large orbit gyrotrons (LOG) represent an appealing alternative to the conventional gyrotrons. In this paper we investigate the feasibility of such device operating with low current and low energy electron beams formed by a novel electron gun with a permanent magnet system. The results from the numerical experiments indicate the possibility to excite TE₄₁ mode at fourth harmonic of the cyclotron frequency. Simulations predict generation of microwave radiation with frequency 104 GHz and output power near 1 kW.     

Development of Output Windows for High-Power Long-Pulse Gyrotrons and EC Wave Applications

Electron cyclotron heating (ECH) is one of the main candidates for heating and current drive on ITER (170 GHz) and W7-X (140 GHz). High unit power (1 MW or greater) and high efficiency single-mode continuous-wave (CW) gyrotrons are under development in order to reduce significantly the systems costs. Face-cooled double-disk sapphire and silicon nitride windows (FC-75 liquid cooling), cryogenically edge-cooled single-disk sapphire (liquid nitrogen, liquid neon or liquid helium cooling) and silicon (230 K refrigerator cooling) windows, water-edge-cooled single-disk CVD-diamond windows and water-cooled distributed windows are being investigated in order to solve the window problem. A water-cooled window has two very important advantages; it employs a cheap and effective coolant and it is compact and probably more reliable than other solutions and thus can also be easily used as a torus window. The present paper summarizes the development status of high-power millimeter-wave windows with emphasis on CVD diamond.     

Understanding hydrogen plasma processes based on the diagnostic results of 2.45 GHz ECRIS at Peking University

Optical emission spectroscopy(OES), as a simple in situ method without disturbing the plasma, has been performed for the plasma diagnosis of a 2.45 GHz permanent magnet electron cyclotron resonance(PMECR) ion source at Peking University(PKU). A spectrum measurement platform has been set up with the quartz-chamber electron cyclotron resonance(ECR) ion source [Patent Number: ZL 201110026605.4] and experiments were carried out recently. The electron temperature and electron density inside the ECR plasma chamber have been measured with the method of line intensity ratio of noble gas. Hydrogen plasma processes inside the discharge chamber are discussed based on the diagnostic results. What is more, the superiority of the method of line intensity ratio of noble gas is indicated with a comparison to line intensity ratio of hydrogen. Details will be presented in this paper.     

Whispering-Gallery-Mode Gyrotron Operation with a Quasi-Optical Antenna

High-frequency gyrotron operation in the TE611 whispering gallery mode is reported. Powers as high as 112 kW and an efficiency as high as 25.4 percent have been obtained. In addition to the TE611 mode, ten other fundamental modes with frequencies between 133.9 and 216.4 GHz were observed. A quasi-optical antenna for whispering gallery modes has been tested for the TE611 mode. The combination of this antenna and a reflector produces a well-collimated linearly polarized RF beam suitable for electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH) or plasma diagnostics. The experimental conversion efficiency was determined to be 89 percent, and the cross polarization was down by 25 dB. A new quasi-optical transmission line employing this antenna has also been tested with the gyrotron. The absence of mode competition for the TE611 mode, as well as the efficient conversion of the output radiation into a linearly polarized Gaussian-like beam, substantiates the arguments for operation in surface modes in high-power gyrotrons. The implications of quasi-optical antennas for megawatt gyrotron window design are discussed.     

High-power TE11 and TM11 circular polarizers in oversized waveguides at 70 GHz

Elliptical deformation of oversized, smooth-wall circular waveguides can produce choosable elliptical or circular polarization from a linearly polarized TE11 or TM11 mode used as intermediate linearly polarized modes in TEO1 to HE11 mode conversion sequences in electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH) of magnetically confined thermonuclear fusion plasmas with high-power gyrotrons. Mode coupling in elliptically distorted overmoded circular waveguides has been studied theoretically and experimentally in order to optimize TE11 (and TM11) polarizers (I.D.=27.79 mm) for the 1 MW/70 GHz long-pulse (3s) ECRH system on the Garching Stellarator W VII-AS. Coupling coefficients for ellipticity coupling of non-degenerate modes are given (coupled-mode differential equations formalism). The polarization converters essentially consist of smooth-wall circular waveguides which are gradually squeezed. A sine-squared function of the length coordinate is used to get an almost elliptical crosssection in the middle and circular cross sections at both ends. Arbitrary elliptical polarization states can be generated introducing an extremely low level (<<1%) of undesired spurious modes. Well defined differential phase characteristics have been achieved.     

Study of runaway electron behaviour during electron cyclotron resonance heating in the HL-2A Tokamak

During the current flat-top phase of electron cyclotron resonance heating discharges in the HL-2A Tokamak, the behaviour of runaway electrons has been studied by means of hard x-ray detectors and neutron diagnostics. During electron cyclotron resonance heating, it can be found that both hard x-ray radiation intensity and neutron emission flux fall rapidly to a very low level, which suggests that runaway electrons have been suppressed by electron cyclotron resonance heating. From the set of discharges studied in the present experiments, it has also been observed that the efficiency of runaway suppression by electron cyclotron resonance heating was apparently affected by two factors: electron cyclotron resonance heating power and duration. These results have been analysed by using a test particle model. The decrease of the toroidal electric field due to electron cyclotron resonance heating results in a rapid fall in the runaway electron energy that may lead to a suppression of runaway electrons. During electron cyclotron resonance heating with different powers and durations, the runaway electrons will experience different slowing down processes. These different decay processes are the major cause for influencing the efficiency of runaway suppression. This result is related to the safe operation of the Tokamak and may bring an effective control of runaway electrons.     

On the Choice of Electron Cyclotron Heating Frequency for T-15MD Tokamak

Physics of Atomic Nuclei - Electron cyclotron heating is one of the methods of additional plasma heating and noninductive current drive in the T-15MD tokamak. One to eight gyrotrons with a total...     

Electron cyclotron resonance heating in a short cylindrical plasma system

Electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma is produced and studied in a small cylindrical system. Microwave power is delivered by a CW magnetron at 2.45 GHz in TE¹⁰ mode and launched radially to have extraordinary (X) wave in plasma. The axial magnetic field required for ECR in the system is such that the first two ECR surfaces (B = 875.0 G andB = 437.5 G) reside in the system. ECR plasma is produced with hydrogen with typical plasma density n^e as 3.2 × 10¹⁰ cm^-3 and plasma temperature T^e between 9 and 15 eV. Various cut-off and resonance positions are identified in the plasma system. ECR heating (ECRH) of the plasma is observed experimentally. This heating is because of the mode conversion of X-wave to electron Bernstein wave (EBW) at the upper hybrid resonance (UHR) layer. The power mode conversion efficiency is estimated to be 0.85 for this system. The experimental results are presented in this paper.     

Optimized overmoded TE01-to-TM11 mode converters for high-power millimeter wave applications at 70 and 140 GHz

Mode coupling in bent, oversized, smooth-wall circular waveguides was studied by means of numerical integration of coupled-mode differential equations in order to optimize high-power TE01-to-TM11 mode transducers at 70 GHz and 140 GHz. Such mode transformers are used in the mode conversion sequence TEOn to TE01 to TM11 to HE11 for generating the almost perfectly linearly polarized Gaussian-like HE11 mode from circular electric TEOn gyrotron modes. This quasi-optical HE11 hybrid mode is in many respects ideal for electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH) of magnetically confined plasmas in thermonuclear fusion research and for other technical applications. Curvature and ellipticity coupling as well as ohmic attenuation of 6 coupled modes (TE01, TM11, TE11, TE12, TE21, TM21) are included in the coupling matrices. Integral expressions were used for deriving the coupling coefficients for arbitrary modes in bent, smooth-wall waveguide. Lowest level of unwanted spurious modes together with highest transmission efficiency (shortest arc length) is achieved with sinusoidal curvature distribution instaed of constant curvature. The calculated conversion efficiencies of 98.0% at 70 GHz and 95.2% at 140 GHz (interior waveguide diameter D=27.8 mm for 200 kW transmission lines) are in excellent agreement with the measured values of (97.6±0.4)% and (95±1)%, respectively.     

简单磁镜中热电子等离子体的基本特性

本文叙述了简单磁镜中,热电子等离子体的实验结果。微波在基频共振层击穿气体产生等离子体,二次偕振加热产生热电子环。等离子体激发了低频交换模和漂移波,热电子环对等离子体的扰动有稳定作用。     

捕获电子对低杂波与电子回旋波的协同效应的影响

电子回旋波和低杂波的协同效应可有效地提高两只波的电流驱动效率.本文数值研究了捕获电子效应对电子回旋波和低杂波协同的影响.结果显示,随着捕获角的增大,双波协同驱动电流会减小,且协同因子也会明显减小,即捕获角对两只波协同驱动流的影响要比其对单独驱动电流的影响更加敏感.通过加宽低杂波共振区可减弱电子回旋波电流驱动对捕获角的依赖,同时发现随着电子回旋波功率的增加,捕获角对电子回旋波电流驱动的影响也会变小.     

微型电子回旋共振离子推力器离子源结构优化实验研究

微型电子回旋共振(ECR)离子推力器可满足微小航天器空间探测的推进需求. 为此, 本文开展直径20 mm的微型ECR离子源结构优化实验研究. 根据放电室内静磁场和ECR谐振区的分布特点, 研究不同微波耦合输入位置对离子源性能的影响, 结果表明环形天线处在高于ECR谐振强度的强磁场区域时, 微波与等离子体实现无损耦合, 电子共振加热效果显著, 引出离子束流较大. 根据放电室电磁截止特性, 结合微波电场计算, 研究放电容积对离子源性能的影响, 实验表明过长或过短的腔体长度会导致引出离子束流下降甚至等离子体熄灭. 经优化后离子源性能测试表明, 在入射微波功率2.1 W、氩气流量14.9 μg/s下, 可引出离子束流5.4 mA, 气体放电损耗和利用率分别为389 W/A和15%.     

Design of the Upgraded TJ-II Quasi-optical Transmission Line

TJ-II plasma start-up and heating are made by electron cyclotron resonance waves at the second harmonic of the electron cyclotron frequency. Two quasi-optical transmission lines transmit the microwave power of the gyrotrons to the vacuum vessel. The first line launches the microwave power under fixed injection geometry, i.e. there is no possibility to change the launching angle and the wave polarization. The second line has a moveable mirror installed inside the TJ-II vessel. To get high absorption efficiency and a narrow energy deposition profile the internal mirror focuses the wave beam at plasma center.To get more flexibility in the experiments on heating and current drive the first transmission line needs to be upgraded. The design is presented in this paper. The new launching antenna includes an internal mirror to focus the beam and to change the injection angle. Both launchers are then symmetrical. A polarizer consisting of two corrugated mirrors is used to get any wave polarization. Two mirrors with an array of coupling holes and calorimetric measurements of the energy absorbed in the barrier window allow the estimation of the microwave power launched into the TJ-II.     

Simulation of electron cyclotron current drive and electron cyclotron resonant heating for the HL-2A tokamak＊

A quasi-linear formalism is developed for relativistic particles. It is self-consistent including spatial diffusion. An attempt is made to simulate the process of electron cyclotron resonant heating （ECRH） and electron cyclotron current drive （ECCD） for the HL-2A tokamak. Temperature oscillating regimes in Tore Supra diagnosed by MHD activity seem to be reproduced in the simulation. The special feature in this paper is to see the resonance in the long time scale for relativistic plasma.     

Hysteretic microwave cyclotron resonance of a laterally confined 2 DEG

A hysteretic cyclotron resonance (CR) is discovered in a laterally confined high mobility two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) in GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructures. The hysteresis and switching phenomena are observed in microwave radiation (36 GHz) transmission at temperature 1.8–25 K. It is found that the hysteresis is accompanied by long-lived, microwave-induced changes of the 2DEG density. These density changes is attributed to a modification of electron vertical transport processes in heterostructures under the microwave heating of the 2DEG. A phenomenological model based on the 2DEG density-dependent CR, describes reasonably the main experimental findings.     

Computer-aided analysis and design of corrugated TE11 to HE11 mode converters in highly overmoded waveguides

A theoretical and experimental study of TE11-to-HE11 mode conversion in highly oversized waveguides is given. The balanced HE11 hybrid mode propagating in a circumferentially corrugated circular waveguide is in many respects ideal for effective electron cyclotron resonance heating of fusion plasmas with high-power gyrotrons. At an aperture antenna it exhibits desirable radiation characteristics such as linear polarization with very low cross polarization and axisymmetric power distribution with low sidelobe levels. This Gaussian-like mode can be generated from a TE11 mode by means of a corrugated mode converter in which the depth of the annular slots is tapered gradually from one-half to one-quarter wavelength. Computer-aided optimization of converter length, shape of corrugations, and of non-linear slot depth variation for 28 GHz- and 70 GHz-transducers was achieved with a scattering matrix formalism employing the modal field expansion technique (Modular Analysis Concept). In both cases the measured conversion efficiency of (98.5±0.5)% and the experimental values of the maximum cross polarization (below –28 dB) are in very good agreement with the predicted values. High-power operation was successfully demonstrated using pulsed 28 GHz- and 70 GHz-VARIAN gyrotrons (200 kW).     

单粒子态ECR离子源

介绍了一台2.45GHz电子回旋共振(ECR)单电荷离子源的磁场场形,以及它和总束流的关系.并且比较了国际上现有的几台同类型离子源的磁场场形.由此得出了关于2.45GHzECR离子源磁场场形的一些结论.     

Neoclassical tearing mode stabilization by electron cyclotron current drive for HL-2M tokamak

Investigation of neoclassical tearing mode and its suppression by electron cyclotron current drive(ECCD) has been carried out in HL-2 M tokamak. The current driving capability of the electron cyclotron wave is evaluated. It is found that the deposition location can be effectively controlled by changing the poloidal angle. The validation of electron cyclotron wave heating and current driving has been demonstrated for the upper launcher port. We show that 3.0 MW and2.5 MW modulated ECCD can completely stabilize(2,1) and(3,2) NTMs, respectively. The non-modulated ECCD, radial misalignment as well as current profile broadening have deleterious effect on the NTM stabilization. The time required for suppression of(3,2) mode is shorter than that required for the suppression of(2,1) mode. Moreover, the time needed for complete stabilization at different initial island width has been quantitatively presented and analyzed.     

Polarizer with Nonrectangular Grooves in the HE11 Mode Transmission Line

This paper presents experimental results on polarizers with nonrectangular grooves to be used in high power millimeter wave transmission lines for electron cyclotron heating (ECH) of fusion plasmas. A low-power test at a frequency of 106.4 GHz has been carried out for several polarizers with different groove depths. The polarization characteristics experimentally measured are in good agreement with numerical results in which the actual groove shape functions are taken into account. This confirms the design optimization for future polarizer. Favorable results have also been obtained in a 400 kW-level high-power test for the polarizer installed in an ECH transmission line of the Heliotron-E plasma device.