Recent result of gyrotron operation in NIFS

Abstract

In the last Large Helical Device (LHD) experimental campaign, a 154GHz gyrotron which had been conditioned to generate 1 MW/2 s, 0.5 MW/CW was installed for LHD experiments. Four high power gyrotrons (three-77 GHz/1~1.5 MW and one-154 GHz/1 MW) and a CW gyrotron (84 GHz/0.2 MW) are ready. Our experiment requires high energy and various injection patterns for Electron Cyclotron Resonance Heating (ECRH). Higher individual injection power and various injection patterns, we developed a power enhancement method by stepped anode acceleration voltage control and operated the gyrotron in the hard excitation region. These operations were realized by a remote controlled waveform generator. However the oscillation map of high power or long pulse operation in the hard excitation region were limited because in order to achieve the hard excitation region by the anode voltage control one must pass through the high anode current phase within a time short enough that the anode or the anode power supply is not overloaded. This limitation becomes more critical when the gyrotron beam current is increased in order to increase the output power. In the long pulse operation it was impossible to reach the hard excitation region in a low beam current (<10A).