In-situ Low Power Tests of the ASDEX Upgrade ECRH Transmission Lines

Abstract

An Electron Cyclotron Resonance Heating (ECRH) system employing 8 gyrotrons is in routine operation at the ASDEX Upgrade tokamak at IPP Garching. The gyrotrons are of two-frequency type operating at 105 and 140 GHz with a maximum output power of up to 1 MW and 10 s pulse length. The gyrotron output beams are coupled to 8 waveguide transmission lines via quasi-optical Matching Optics Units (MOUs). The oversized corrugated HE11 waveguides with a diameter of 87 mm are operated at atmospheric pressure with overall lengths between 65 and 103 meters. The number of quasi-optical miter bends per line is between 6 and 8. High mode purity in the transmission lines is critical with respect to both, losses and atmospheric breakdowns in the waveguides. Beam measurements at low power have been performed along the transmission lines and are compared to high power measurements. Near-field calculations and measurements of mm-wave beams radiated from open-ended HE11 waveguides show, that varying intensity patterns determine the distribution of Ohmic loading in compact mm-wave beam launching antennas, where the first mirror is located in the reactive near-field or close to the Fresnel maximum.