Electron cyclotron wave sources and applications for fusion

Abstract

Advances in magnetic fusion research have come as often from the use of new technologies as from the invention of ideas and discovery of phenomena that are then applied to new experiments. The technologies needed for plasma production, heating, confinement, and control have largely been developed and are a major factor in the success of our current experiments. These include high vacuum techniques, normal and superconducting magnets, particle beams, pellet fueling devices, and rf sources in the ion cylotron and lower hybrid range of frequencies. One area where development is especially required, and where the potential impact on fusion research is large, is that of electron cyclotron wave (ECW) sources in the 100–600 GHz range. This journal issue is devoted to methods for ECW generation and transmission, and to applications including heating, current drive, profile shaping, and instability control. To help focus these articles the requirements(1) for a system to heat the Compact Ignition Tokamak (CIT) were used to define the necessary technology. Somewhat lower frequencies, but similar power, is anticipated(2) for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), and for future large devices of that class, should they use ECW sources in them.