ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
Division Spotlight
Reactor Physics
The division's objectives are to promote the advancement of knowledge and understanding of the fundamental physical phenomena characterizing nuclear reactors and other nuclear systems. The division encourages research and disseminates information through meetings and publications. Areas of technical interest include nuclear data, particle interactions and transport, reactor and nuclear systems analysis, methods, design, validation and operating experience and standards. The Wigner Award heads the awards program.
Meeting Spotlight
2025 ANS Annual Conference
June 15–18, 2025
Chicago, IL|Chicago Marriott Downtown
Standards Program
The Standards Committee is responsible for the development and maintenance of voluntary consensus standards that address the design, analysis, and operation of components, systems, and facilities related to the application of nuclear science and technology. Find out What’s New, check out the Standards Store, or Get Involved today!
Latest Magazine Issues
Jun 2025
Jan 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
July 2025
Nuclear Technology
June 2025
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Zaporizhzhia ‘extremely fragile’ relying on single off-site power line, IAEA warns
Europe’s largest nuclear power plant has just one remaining power line for essential nuclear safety and security functions, compared with its original 10 functional lines before the military conflict with Russia, warned Rafael Mariano Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
S.G.E. Pronko, S. Delaware, T.E. Harris, D. Hoyt, D.H. Kellman, R.A. Legg, M. Lontoc, A. Nerem, J.R. Valentine
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 39 | Number 2 | March 2001 | Pages 1111-1115
Plasma Engineering, Heating, and Current Drive | doi.org/10.13182/FST01-A11963393
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The DIII-D National Fusion Facility at General Atomics is completing the upgrade of its electron cyclotron heating (ECH) capability from the previous 3 MW at 110 GHz to 6 MW of generated microwave power.1 An 8.4 MW modulator/regulator (M/R) power system has been designed and constructed.2 Surplus hardware that was acquired from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) Mirror Fusion Test Facility (MFTF program) was used as part of the design foundation. The power system, with a nominal output of −80 kV and 80 A, can supply a pair of gyrotrons with up to 10 second long pulses that may or may not be modulated.
The modulator/regulator was designed about the BBC CKQ200-4 tetrode, which was the key component acquired from the LLNL program. In order to meet the performance goals of the program, substantial design modifications were needed to be made on the grid driver amplifier and the closed-loop feedback regulator circuits.3 Also, a newly designed crowbar switch system, featuring a high speed, thyratron-like triggered gas switch, was implemented. The modulator/regulator performance to date has been demonstrated as having <0.06% peak-to-peak ripple and square wave modulation of 50% amplitude at 2 kHz. The key features of the design of the power system and its performance will be presented in this paper.
