Overview of the Microwave Tokamak Experiment operation and developments

Conference · Sun Sep 01 04:00:00 EDT 1991

OSTI ID:5609070

Lang, D D; Allen, S L; Bell, H H

At Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), we assembled and presently operate the Microwave Tokamak Experiment (MTX) to demonstrate the feasibility of using intense microwave pulses (up to 6 GW peak power) from a free electron laser (FEL) to provide electron cyclotron heating (ECH) for use in tokamaks, particularly high field machines. The MTX consists primarily of the ALCATOR C tokamak and power supplies from MIT, along with FEL; the FEL is made up of the ETA-II linear induction accelerator and the IMP steady-state wiggler. A four-barrel pellet injector was added to the tokamak to produce peaked density profiles. The tokamak operations started in November 1988, with full duration plasmas being obtained at a toroidal field of both 5 and 9 tesla. Initial results were obtained with the single pulse 140 GHz FEL at peak power levels of 200 to 400 MW late in 1989. Due to excessive transverse electron beam motion, and arcing in the accelerator cells, the accelerator was modified. These modifications have been successfully tested on a small portion of the rebuilt accelerator and have been incorporated in the remaining portion of the accelerator. A 140 GHz, 400 kW gyrotron was used to perform preliminary heating experiments during the fall of 1990. This same gyrotron system is serving as the master oscillator for the burst mode FEL. The new IMP steady state wiggler will be used to produce the high power microwaves for the burst mode. The FEL construction has been completed, and it will be used for heating experiments scheduled for this fall. This paper describes the recent experimental operations. It also briefly outlines the additions and improvements to the experiment, which are described in more detail in companion papers at this conference.

• Research Organization: Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: DOE; USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-48
• OSTI ID: 5609070
• Report Number(s): UCRL-JC-107245; CONF-910968--79; ON: DE92009700
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
700460* -- Fusion Technology-- Heating & Fueling Systems
ACCELERATORS
AMPLIFIERS
CLOSED PLASMA DEVICES
DESIGN
ECR HEATING
ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT
EQUIPMENT
FREE ELECTRON LASERS
Fu
Fuels-- (1992)
HEATING
HIGH-FREQUENCY HEATING
LASERS
LINEAR ACCELERATORS
MICROWAVE AMPLIFIERS
MICROWAVE EQUIPMENT
OPERATION
PELLET INJECTION
PLASMA HEATING
THERMONUCLEAR DEVICES
TOKAMAK DEVICES