TCV – Plasma heating with ECRH

A powerful electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH) system is installed on TCV. 9 gyrotrons provide a total power of 4.5MW.  A well thought-out system of wave launchers allows for localised plasma heating or toroidal injection for current drive.

Effects of the EC waves on the plasma are intensively investigated on TCV. These include:

  • Improvement of the confinement properties due to development of transport barriers
  • quasi-linear modeling of the evolution of the electron velocity distribution function in phases with strong wave-particle interactions
  • Generation of highly suprathermal electrons by ECCD.
  • Although merely heating electrons, ECRH has become an important tool for the localised modification of plasma parameters, e.g. current profile tailoring, neoclassical tearing mode (NTM) stabilisation or sawtooth control.
  • The selectivity in energy and space made of EC physics a highly regarded mean of distribution function engineering.
  • Recent developments in plasma feedback control hardware promote these tools even available in real time.

ECH heating

  1. S.Gnesin, J.Decker, S.Coda, T.P.Goodman, Y.Peysson and D.Mazon; 3rd harmonic electron cyclotron resonant heating absorption enhancement by 2nd harmonic heating at the same frequency in a tokamak; Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion 54 035002 (2012) DOI:10.1088/0741-3335/54/3/035002
  2. S.Coda et al; The effect of ECRH on the electron velocity distribution function; Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion 48 B359 (2006) DOI:10.1088/0741-3335/48/12B/S33
  3. ELMs in OH and with X3 ECHY.R.Martin, L.Porte, S.Alberti; Third harmonic EC heating of ELMy H-mode in TCV; Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion 48(5A) A163 (2006) DOI:10.1088/0741-3335/48/5A/S15
  4. S.Alberti et al; Third-harmonic, top-launch, ECRH experiments on TCV tokamak; Nuclear Fusion 45(11) 1224 (2005) DOI:10.1088/0029-5515/45/11/002
  5. I.Furno et al; Understanding sawtooth activity during intense electron cyclotron heating experiments on TCV; Nucl. Fusion 41 403 (2001) DOI:10.1088/0029-5515/41/4/306
  6. A.Pochelon et al; Electron Bernstein wave heating of over-dense H-mode plasmas in the TCV tokamak via O-X-B double mode conversion; Nucl. Fusion 47 1552 (2007) DOI:10.1088/0029-5515/47/11/017

PhD theses:

  1. L.Curchod, A.Pochelon (Dir.); High Density Plasma Heating in the Tokamak a Configuration Variable; EPFL, Lausanne, 2011 DOI:10.5075/epfl-thesis-5012
  2. C.Schlatter, B.Duval (Dir.); Turbulent ion heating in TCV tokamak plasmas; EPFL, Lausanne, 2009. DOI:10.5075/epfl-thesis-4479
  3. I.Pavlov, J.-M.Moret (Dir.); Analysis of plasma dynamic response to modulated electron cyclotron heating in TCV tokamak; EPFL, Lausanne, 2008. DOI:10.5075/epfl-thesis-4086
  4. G.Arnoux, S.Alberti (Dir.); Chauffage de plasma par ondes électromagnétiques à la troisième harmonique de la fréquence cyclotron des électrons dans le tokamak TCV; EPFL, Lausanne, 2005. DOI:10.5075/epfl-thesis-3401
  5. A.L.Manini, J.-M.Moret (Dir.); Analysis and interpretation of the plasma dynamic response to additional heating power using different diagnostics; EPFL, Lausanne, 2002. DOI:10.5075/epfl-thesis-2599

Suprathermal electrons

  1. X2 and X3 ECH on TCVS.Gnesin, S.Coda, J.Decker, and Y.Peysson; Suprathermal electron studies in the TCV tokamak: Design of a tomographic hard-x-ray spectrometer; Review of Scientific Instruments 79 10F504 (2008) DOI:10.1063/1.2957843
  2. I.Klimanov, A.Fasoli, T.P.Goodman and the TCV team; Generation of suprathermal electrons during sawtooth crashes in a tokamak plasma; Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion 49 L1 (2007) DOI:10.1088/0741-3335/49/3/L01
  3. P.Blanchard, S.Alberti, S.Coda, H.Weisen, P.Nikkola and I.Klimanov; High field side measurements of non-thermal electron cyclotron emission on TCV plasmas with ECH and ECCD; Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion 44 2231 (2002) DOI:10.1088/0741-3335/44/10/310

PhD theses:

  1. S.Gnesin, S.Coda (Dir.); Electron Cyclotron Heating and Suprathermal Electron Dynamics in the TCV Tokamak; EPFL, Lausanne, 2011; DOI:10.5075/epfl-thesis-5181
  2. I.Klimanov, A.Fasoli (Dir.); Reconstruction of the electron distribution function during ECRH/ECCD and magnetic reconnection events in a tokamak plasma; EPFL, Lausanne, 2005. doi:10.5075/epfl-thesis-3432
  3. P.Blanchard, H.Weisen (Dir.); Etudes du rayonnement suprathermique émis lors du chauffage cyclotronique électronique du plasma du tokamak TCV; EPFL, Lausanne, 2002. DOI:10.5075/epfl-thesis-2606