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Fusion energy: Progress, partnerships, and the path to deployment
Over the past decade, fusion energy has moved decisively from scientific aspiration toward a credible pathway to a new energy technology. Thanks to long-term federal support, we have significantly advanced our fundamental understanding of plasma physics—the behavior of the superheated gases at the heart of fusion devices. This knowledge will enable the creation and control of fusion fuel under conditions required for future power plants. Our progress is exemplified by breakthroughs at the National Ignition Facility and the Joint European Torus.
J.-P. Hogge, T. P. Goodman, S. Alberti, F. Albajar, K. A. Avramides, P. Benin, S. Bethuys, W. Bin, T. Bonicelli, A. Bruschi, S. Cirant, E. Droz, O. Dumbrajs, D. Fasel, F. Gandini, G. Gantenbein, S. Illy, S. Jawla, J. Jin, S. Kern, P. Lavanchy, C. Liévin, B. Marlétaz, P. Marmillod, A. Perez, B. Piosczyk, I. Pagonakis, L. Porte, T. Rzesnickl, U. Siravo, M. Thumm, M. Q. Tran
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 55 | Number 2 | February 2009 | Pages 204-212
Technical Paper | Electron Cyclotron Emission and Electron Cyclotron Resonance Heating | doi.org/10.13182/FST09-A4072
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The European Union is working toward providing 2-MW, coaxial-cavity, continuous-wave (cw) 170-GHz gyrotrons for ITER. Their design is based on results from an experimental preprototype tube having a pulse length of several milliseconds, in operation at Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe (FZK) for several years now. The first industrial prototype tube was designed for cw operation but, in a first phase, aimed at a pulse length of 1 s at the European Gyrotron Test Facility in Lausanne, Switzerland, as part of a phased testing/development program (1 s, 60 s, cw). The first experimental results of the operation of this prototype gyrotron are reported here. The microwave generation was characterized at very short pulse length (<0.01 s) using a load on loan from FZK, and the highest measured output power was 1.4 MW, at a beam energy significantly lower than the design value (83 kV instead of 90 kV), limited by arcing in the tube. The radio-frequency (rf) beam profile was measured to allow reconstruction of the phase and amplitude profile at the window and to provide the necessary information permitting proper alignment of the compact rf loads prior to pulse extension. Arcs in the tube limited the pulse length extension to a few tens of milliseconds. According to present planning, the tube is going to be opened, inspected, and refurbished, depending on the results of the inspection, to allow testing of an improved version of the mode launcher and replacement of some subassemblies.