Active heater control and regulation for the Varian VGT-8011 gyrotron

The Varian VGT-8011 gyrotron is currently being used in the new 110 GHz 2 MW ECH system installed on D3-D. This new ECH system augments the 60 GHz system which uses Varian VA-8060 gyrotrons. The new 110 GHz system will be used for ECH experiments on D3-D with a pulse width capability of 10 sec. In order to maintain a constant RF outpower level during long pulse operation, active filament-heater control and regulation is required to maintain a constant cathode current. On past D3-D experiments involving the use of Varian VA-8060 gyrotrons for ECH power, significant gyrotron heater-emission depletion was experienced for pulse widths > 300 msec. This decline in heater-emission directly results in gyrotron-cathode current droop. Since RF power from gyrotrons decreases as cathode current decreases, it is necessary to maintain a constant cathode current level during gyrotron pulses for efficient gyrotron operation. Therefore, it was determined that a filament-heater control system should be developed for the Varian VGT-8011 gyrotron which will include cathode-current feed-back. This paper discusses the mechanisms used to regulate gyrotron filament-heater voltage by using cathode-current feed-back. 1 fig