ECH on the MTX [Microwave Tokamak Experiment]

The Microwave Tokamak Experiment (MTX) at LLNL is investigating the heating of high density Tokamak plasmas using an intense pulse FEL. Our first experiments, now beginning, will study the absorption and plasma heating of single FEL pulses (20 ns pulse length and peak power up to 2 GW) at a frequency of 140 GHz. A later phase of experiments also at 140 GHz will study FEL heating at 5 kHz rate for a pulse train up to 50 pulses (35 ns pulse length and peak power up to 4 GW). Future operations are planned at 250 GHz with an average power of 2 MW for a pulse train of 0.5 s. The microwave output of the FEL is transported quasi-optically to the tokamak through a window-less, evacuated pipe of 20 in. diameter, using a six mirror system. Computational modelling of the non-linear absorption for the MTX geometry predicts single-pass absorption of 40% at a density and temperature of 1.8 /times/ 1020m/sup /minus/3/ and 1 keV, respectively. To measure plasma microwave absorption and backscatter, diagnostics are available to measure forward and reflected power (parallel wire grid beam-splitter and mirror directional couplers) and power transmitted through the plasma (segmented calorimeter and waveguide detector). Other fast diagnostics include ECE, Thompson scattering, soft x-rays, and fast magnetic probes. 8 refs., 2 figs