Review of quasi-optical gyrotron development

There is currently a need for megawatt average power sources of 100–600 GHz radiation for electron cyclotron heating of fusion plasmas. One of the leading candidates for such a source, the conventional wave guide cavity gyrotron,⁽¹⁾ has produced impressive output powers and efficiencies at frequencies up to about 300 GHz. However, this gyrotron configuration is limited at high frequencies by high ohmic heating and problems with transverse mode competition due to the highly overmoded configuration, and with beam collection, since the beam must be collected along a section of the output waveguide. The quasi-optical gyrotron (QOG), first proposed in 1980 by Sprangle, Vomvoridis, and Manheimer,⁽³⁾ features an open resonator formed by a pair of spherical mirrors instead of a waveguide resonator and has the potential for overcoming each of these limitations. The resonator mirrors can be well removed from the beam-wave interaction region, allowing a large volume for the interaction and low ohmic heating densities at the mirrors. The beam direction is transverse to the resonator so that beam collection is separate from the output waveguide. This geometry is particularly well suited to the use of a depressed collector for electron beam energy recovery. The QOG operates in the lowest-order transverse (TEM_ool) Guassian mode of the resonator, higher-order transverse modes being effectively suppressed by higher diffraction losses. This paper reviews recent progress toward the development of high-power quasi-optical gyrotrons for ECRH of fusion plasmas. It includes an overview of gyrotron theory in terms of normalized variables as they apply to the quasi-optical gyrotron for operation both in the fundamental and the higher harmonics. Scaling equations for the output power and resonator mirror heating by the RF are given. The design tradeoffs between annular and sheet electron beams are discussed as is the issue of beam space-charge depression in the open resonator. Recent advances in the analysis and design of QOG configurations capable of efficient and stable single-mode operation are discussed, showing the possibility of achieving 50% transverse efficiency in highly overmoded resonators. The application of a depressed collector is discussed as a means of recovering the energy in the axial motion of the spent electron beam and, thus, raising the output efficiency to near the transverse electronic efficiency. The problem of high field magnet design is addressed, for both fundamental and higher harmonic operations, the latter being necessary at very high frequencies. The design equations and tradeoffs are applied to the design of 1-MW, CW quasi-optical gyrotrons operating at 120 GHz, in the first and second harmonic at 280 GHz and in the second harmonic at 560 GHz. The output coupling for these 1 MW designs is 5–7% showing the potential for even higher powers per tube if sheet-beam electron guns can be developed. The estimated electronic efficiency of the fundamental harmonic designs is 23%, which leads to an output efficiency of 47% with the use of a depressed collector with a modest collection efficiency. The peak ohmic heating density is 500 kW/cm² in all the designs. This leads to resonator mirror separations ranging from 127 cm for 120-GHz design, to 232 cm for the 560-GHz, second harmonic design. Finally, a simple output system composed of'elliptical and parabolic mirrors is described that converts the output radiation from the resonator into a parallel, quasi-Gaussian beam. Experimental programs are reviewed as well, including the recent experiment at the Naval Research Laboratory that produced frequencies ranging from 95–130 GHz and powers up to 150 kW. Operation in a single mode was observed at powers up to 125 kW despite the resonator being highly overmoded. Comparison is made with the theoretically-predicted region of single-mode operation. Recent progress in the experimental characterization of QOG resontors is summarized.     

28 GHz Gyrotron ECRH on LDX

A 10 kW, CW, 28 GHz gyrotron has been implemented on LDX to increase the plasma density and to more fully explore the potential of high beta plasma stability in a dipole magnetic configuration. This added power represents about a 60% increase in ECRH to a new total of 26.9 kW with sources at 2.45, 6.4, and 10.5 GHz. The 1 Tesla resonances in LDX form small rings encompassing the entire plasma cross-section above and below the floating coil (F-coil) near the dipole axial region. A 32.5 mm diameter TE₀₁ waveguide with a partial Vlasov step cut launches a diverging beam from above the F-coil that depends on internal wall reflections for plasma coupling. Initial gyrotron only plasmas exhibit steep natural profiles with fewer hot electrons than with the other sources. The background scattered radiation suggests that only about half the power is being absorbed with the present launcher.     

Design and preliminary test of a 105/140 GHz dual-frequency MW-level gyrotron

A dual-frequency (105/140 GHz) MW-level continuous-wave gyrotron was developed for fusion application at Institute of Applied Electronics, China Academy of Engineering Physics. This gyrotron employs a cylindrical cavity working in the TE18,7 mode at 105 GHz and the TE24,9 mode at 140 GHz. A triode magnetron injection gun and a built-in quasi-optical mode converter were designed to operate at these two frequencies. For the proof-test phase, the gyrotron was equipped with a single-disk boron nitride window to achieve radio frequency output with a power of ∼500 kW for a short-pulse duration. In the preliminary short-pulse proof-test in the first quarter of 2021, the dual-frequency gyrotron achieved output powers of 300 kW at 105 GHz and 540 kW at 140 GHz, respectively, under 5 Hz 1 ms continuous pulse-burst operations. Power upgrade and pulse-width extension were hampered by the limitation of the high-voltage power supply and output window. This gyrotron design was preliminarily validated.     

5 MW CW supply system for the ITER gyrotrons Test Facility

ECH (Electron Cyclotron Heating) for ITER will deliver into the plasma 20 MW of RF power. The procurement of the RF sources will be shared equally between the three following partners: Europe, Japan and Russia. Moreover, Europe decided to develop a RF source capable of 2 MW CW of RF power, based on the design of a coaxial gyrotron with a depressed collector. In order to be able to develop and test these RF sources, a Test Facility (TF) has been built at the CRPP premises in Lausanne (CH).The present paper will first remind the main operation conditions considered to test safely a gyrotron. The power supplies parameters allowing to fulfill these conditions will be reviewed. The core of the paper content will describe the newly installed Main High Voltage Power Supply (MHVPS), to be connected to the gyrotron cathode and capable of ?60 kV/80 A-CW. The principle, the characteristics, the on-site test results will be described at the light of the requirements imposed by the gyrotron testing. Particular aspects of the installation and commissioning on-site will be highlighted in comparison with the ITER environment. The synchronized operation of the MHVPS and the BPS (Body Power Supply) on dummy load, piloted through the TF remote control, will be presented and commented.Since the TF supply structure has been built integrating the particular conditions and requirements expected for ITER, a conclusion will summarize the performances obtained at the light of these criteria.     

Design and Misalignment Analysis of 140 GHz, 1.5 MW Gyrotron Interaction Cavity for Plasma Heating Applications

In this paper the design of 140 GHz, 1.5 MW gyrotron interaction cavity is described in detail. The interaction cavity is designed and simulated by using Particle-in-Cell code for TE_24,8 operating mode. The obtained simulation results show more than 1.5 MW of output power at 139.83 GHz of frequency. A thorough parametric and misalignment study is also presented to support the actual fabrication and assembling of the device.     

Study and Design of a High-Frequency Interaction Cavity for a 140 GHz Megawatts Gyrotron

The gyrotron is one of the most promising high-power millimeter-wave sources for electron cyclotron resonance heating(ECRH) in controlled thermal nuclear fusion experiments.In this paper,the design of a high-frequency interaction cavity of a 1 MW/140 GHz gyrotron is described in detail.The cavity is designed by using eigen mode analysis and radio frequency(RF) behavior calculation.Rounded transitions at the input and output tapers are designed for reducing mode conversion.With the obtained cavity structure,non-linear self-consistent equations are adopted to calculate its output power and efficiency.A particle-in-cell(PIC) method is used to simulate the beam-wave interaction process for obtaining the resonant frequency and output power of the cavity.The PIC simulation results match considerably well with the results obtained by the non-linear self-consistent calculation.The cavity is currently under construction and will be integrated with other components for overall testing.     

Design of Electron Gun for 1.5 MW, 140 GHz Gyrotron

This paper presents the design of the triode type electron gun for a 140 GHz, 1.5 MW gyrotron with the transverse to the axial velocity ratio of the beam 1.4 and the transverse velocity spread 1.28%. The operating mode of the gyrotron is TE_24,8 and it is operated in the fundamental harmonic. The analytic trade-off equations for the electron gun design have been used to estimate the initial gun parameters. The electron trajectory tracing program has been used to optimize the electron gun design. The parametric dependences of modulating anode voltage, beam voltage and cathode magnetic field on the beam quality has also been studied.     

基于脉冲步进调制技术的ECRH全固态阳极高压电源控制系统设计

电子回旋共振管是产生高功率毫米微波的真空电子器件,在可控热核聚变研究、雷达等领域中有重要的应用。针对可控热核聚变研究中1 MW/105 GHz回旋管加热系统阳极电源幅度可调且调制的要求,使用高频开关电源技术和脉冲步进调制技术（PSM）研制了全固态阳极高压电源。重点阐述了阳极高压电源实现稳压、调制、前沿时间可调功能的软件控制算法,并通过实验对设计进行了验证。该阳极高压电源具有单脉冲、多脉冲调制和六电平预置波形等3种模式输出功能;输出参数达到35 kV/200 mA,波形前沿3 ms内可调,最大调制频率为1 kHz,调节精度在100 V以内。设计的控制方法也可应用于其他大功率微波源。     

Gyrotron and power supply development for upgrading the electron cyclotron heating system on DIII-D

An upgrade of the electron cyclotron heating system on DIII-D to almost 15 MW is being planned which will expand it from a system with six 1 MW 110 GHz gyrotrons to one with ten gyrotrons. A depressed collector 1.2 MW 110 GHz gyrotron is being commissioned as the seventh gyrotron. A new 117.5 GHz 1.5 MW depressed collector gyrotron has been designed, and the first article will be the eighth gyrotron. Two more are planned, increasing the system to ten total gyrotrons, and the existing 1 MW gyrotrons will subsequently be replaced with 1.5 MW gyrotrons.Communications and Power Industries completed the design of the 117.5 GHz gyrotron, and are now fabricating the first article. The design was optimized for a nominal 1.5 MW at a beam voltage of 105 kV, collector potential depression of 30 kV, and beam current of 50 A, but can achieve 1.8 MW at 60 A. The design of the collector permits modulation above 100 Hz by either the body or the cathode power supply, or both, while modulation below 100 Hz must use only the cathode power supply.General Atomics is developing solid-state power supplies for this upgrade: a solid-state modulator for the cathode power supply and a linear high voltage amplifier for the body power supply. The solid-state modulator has series-connected insulated-gate bipolar transistors that are switched at a fixed frequency by a pulse-width modulation regulator to control the output voltage. The design of the linear high voltage amplifier has series-connected transistors to control the output voltage, which was successfully demonstrated in a proof-of-principle test at 2 kV. The designs of complete power supplies are progressing.The design features of the 117.5 GHz 1.5 MW gyrotron and the solid-state cathode and body power supplies will be described and the current status and plans are presented.     

Development and Preliminary Commissioning Results of a Long Pulse 140 GHz ECRH System on EAST Tokamak(Invited)

A long pulse electron cyclotron resonance heating(ECRH)system has been developed to meet the requirements of steady-state operation for the EAST superconducting tokamak,and the first EC wave was successfully injected into plasma during the 2015 spring campaign.The system is mainly composed of four 140 GHz gyrotron systems,4 ITER-Like transmission lines,4 independent channel launchers and corresponding power supplies,a water cooling,control &inter-lock system etc.Each gyrotron is expected to deliver a maximum power of 1 MW and be operated at 100-1000 s pulse lengths.The No.1 and No.2 gyrotron systems have been installed.In the initial commissioning,a series of parameters of 1 MW 1 s,900 k W 10 s,800 k W 95 s and650 k W 753 s have been demonstrated successfully on the No.1 gyrotron system based on calorimetric dummy load measurements.Significant plasma heating and MHD instability suppression effects were observed in EAST experiments.In addition,high confinement(H-mode)discharges triggered by ECRH were obtained.     

Electron cyclotron wave sources and applications for fusion

Advances in magnetic fusion research have come as often from the use of new technologies as from the invention of ideas and discovery of phenomena that are then applied to new experiments. The technologies needed for plasma production, heating, confinement, and control have largely been developed and are a major factor in the success of our current experiments. These include high vacuum techniques, normal and superconducting magnets, particle beams, pellet fueling devices, and rf sources in the ion cylotron and lower hybrid range of frequencies. One area where development is especially required, and where the potential impact on fusion research is large, is that of electron cyclotron wave (ECW) sources in the 100–600 GHz range. This journal issue is devoted to methods for ECW generation and transmission, and to applications including heating, current drive, profile shaping, and instability control. To help focus these articles the requirements⁽¹⁾ for a system to heat the Compact Ignition Tokamak (CIT) were used to define the necessary technology. Somewhat lower frequencies, but similar power, is anticipated⁽²⁾ for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), and for future large devices of that class, should they use ECW sources in them.This work was supported by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under the auspices of the U.S. DOE under contract W-7405-ENG-48.     

Numerical Analysis of Interaction Cavity for 1.5 MW/127.5 GHz Gyrotron

This paper presents the design of 127.5 GHz ITER start-up gyrotron interaction cavity. Particle-in-Cell electromagnetic simulation approach has been used for the cold cavity and beam-wave interaction analysis. In-house developed code GCOMS has been used for the mode selection. TE_24,8 mode has been chosen as the operating mode. The simulation results show the output power more than 1.5 MW at the operating frequency of 127.8 GHz and the cavity centre magnetic field of 5.1 T. The study of the parametric dependency of the output power and the efficiency on the electron beam and the cavity geometry parameters has also been carried out.     

Design and validation of a 700 kW/CW water load for 3.7 GHz klystrons

To develop Continuous Wave (CW) high power klystrons for fusion experiments, calorimetric matched loads absorbing the RF power are necessary. To test and adjust the parameters of the new klystrons TH2103C [1] able to produce 700 kW/CW at a frequency of 3.7 GHz for upgrading the RF power available in Tore Supra LHCD transmitter, SPINNER GmbH has successfully developed, in collaboration with the CEA, and manufactured a water load capable to absorb the RF power with a Voltage Standing Wave Ratio (VSWR) < 1.05. Crucial part of the water load is the ceramic window cooled with demineralised water to absorb the RF power. Klystrons working at different frequencies like 4.6 GHz and 5 GHz are being developed for CW experiments. The water load could be adapted for these frequencies. The paper describes the specifications, the development and the high RF power tests to validate the dummy load.     

Study of Cavity and Output Window for High Power Gyrotron

In this paper Eigen mode analysis has been carried out using Ansoft HFSS for high frequency 42, 120 and 140 GHz Gyrotron cavity. The design of RF window for 42 GHz, 200 kW Gyrotron has also been carried out using the Ansoft HFSS and CST microwave studio. In 42 GHz gyrotron double disc of diameter 85 mm and thickness 3.2 mm sapphire window and spacing (Coolant FC-75) of discs 2.5 mm has been used in the simulation. The return loss (S11) and transmission loss (S21) of the 42 GHz gyrotron window have been found −47.3 and −0.04 dB, respectively. The return loss and transmission loss of the S-band single disc sapphire window have also been found −27.3 and −0.07 dB, respectively at cylindrical waveguide length 33 mm. The simulated result has been validated through experimental results for pill-box S-band sapphire window.     

Thermal and Structural Analysis and its Effect on Beam-Wave Interaction for 170-GHz, 1-MW Gyrotron Cavity

In this paper thermal and structural analysis for 170 GHz, 1 MW gyrotron interaction cavity and the effect of structural deformation on beam wave interaction is presented. Finite element analysis codes ANSYS has been used for the thermal and structural analysis. Electromagnetic simulator-MAGIC, a Particle-in-Cell (PIC) code, has been used to carry out the effect of the radial expansion of the interaction cavity on beam wave interaction. The change in output power and resonant frequency for operating mode TE_34,10 due to thermal expansion is 10 kW and 0.07 GHz, respectively. These values are under the tolerance limit of power and frequency of the gyrotron. The major variation is found in the power growth stability time.     

A Review on the Applications of High Power,High Frequency Microwave Source: Gyrotron

The gyro oscillators or simply gyrotrons are used in a variety of applications where high electromagnetic power is required at millimeter/submillimeter wave frequencies. The research on the gyrotron microwave tube was initiated by the demand of high power, high frequency electromagnetic wave source in the magnetically confined plasma fusion application. Since the initial phase of gyrotron development, new thrust areas have been explored by the several research groups. The gyrotron shows several unique advantages as a high power source compare to the other millimeter/submillimeter wave sources either semiconductor based devices or vacuum based tube devices. At present gyrotron is used successfully in the field of plasma heating, plasma diagnosis, medical spectroscopy, material processing, whether monitoring etc. discussed in detail in this article. Several new fields of technology like security, metal joining, planetary defense etc. are under exploration for the futuristic use of gyrotron. In this review article, the applications of gyrotron, various issues remained in the further modification of the device, global scenario of the gyrotron development are discussed in detail.     

Neutron parameters which can be reached in fast uranium blankets of hybrid fusion reactors

Conclusions The above considerations have shown that when the real requirements to blanket design are taken into account, a production of 1.4–1.8 tons of plutonium nuclei per fusion event can be expected in a blanket in which metallic uranium fuel is employed. Accordingly, in a reactor with a fusion power of 500 MW, 2.5–3 tons of plutonium can be produced per calendar year; when the total thermal power of the reactor is 2.5–3 GW at the beginning of the operational period, the breeding amounts to 1 kg/(MW·yr).Translated from Atomnaya Énergiya, Vol. 57, No. 1, pp. 36–41, July, 1984.     

Recent progress on the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor

The deuterium-tritium (D-T) experiments on the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) have yielded unique information on the confinement, heating and alpha particle physics of reactor scale D-T plasmas as well as the first experience with tritium handling and D-T neutron activation in an experimental environment. The D-T plasmas produced and studied in TFTR have peak fusion power of 10.7 MW with central fusion power densities of 2.8 MWm^–3 which is similar to the 1.7 MWm^–3 fusion power densities projected for 1,500 MW operation of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). Detailed alpha particle measurements have confirmed alpha confinement and heating of the D-T plasma by alpha particles as expected. Reversed shear, highl _i and internal barrier advanced tokamak operating modes have been produced in TFTR which have the potential to double the fusion power to 20 MW which would also allow the study of alpha particle effects under conditions very similar to those projected for ITER. TFTR is also investigating two new innovations, alpha channeling and controlled transport barriers, which have the potential to significantly improve the standard advanced tokamak.     

Numerical Design of Megawatt Gyrotron with 120 GHz Frequency and 50% Efficiency for Plasma Fusion Application

The design of 120 GHz, 1 MW gyrotron for plasma fusion application is presented in this paper. The mode selection is carried out considering the aim of minimum mode competition, minimum cavity wall heating, etc. On the basis of the selected operating mode, the interaction cavity design and beam-wave interaction computation are carried out by using the PIC code. The design of triode type Magnetron Injection Gun (MIG) is also presented. Trajectory code EGUN, synthesis code MIGSYN and data analysis code MIGANS are used in the MIG designing. Further, the design of MIG is also validated by using the another trajectory code TRAK. The design results of beam dumping system (collector) and RF window are also presented. Depressed collector is designed to enhance the overall tube efficiency. The design study confirms >1 MW output power with tube efficiency around 50% (with collector efficiency).