Simulation of Polarising and Reflector Gratings for High Power mm Waves

Abstract

High power mm waves for fusion plasma heating need to be elliptically polarised to ensure good absorption in the plasma. In some scenarios, electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH) at higher harmonics (X3 and O2) is used, but this has significant shine-through because of low single pass absorption. Grating reflectors at the inboard strike point form a holographic mirror that reflects the beam back into the plasma. This paper investigates the optical properties and ohmic losses of both the polariser and the reflectors with the 3D fullwave code IPF-FD3D. The reflection properties of a reflector for ASDEX Upgrade and the improved ohmic losses of a waveguide polariser were confirmed.