Moving on Up, to the Top for Fusion Power

New approach doubles the current driven by microwave heating at the DIII-D National Fusion Facility

The Science

Researchers have demonstrated a new approach for injecting microwaves into a tokamak fusion device. In one promising fusion technique, electron-cyclotron current drive (ECCD), microwaves help stabilize the plasma while the tokamak heats the plasma on the path to fusion. The new approach to ECCD drives electricity to the plasma twice as efficiently as previous approaches. It works by launching microwaves from the top of the tokamak, instead of the side as with current approaches.

The Impact

To be economically feasible, tokamak fusion power reactors require efficient ways of efficiently driving electric current in specific regions of the plasma. This technique is known as current drive. The new top-launch approach is twice as efficient as existing current drive methods. The researchers successfully tested the top-launch approach at the DIII-D National Fusion Facility. The results are an important step toward practical fusion energy.

Summary

Researchers at DIII-D, a Department of Energy user facility, are working on ways to improve ECCD, which uses powerful microwaves to heat electrons in the plasma in a tokamak device. ECCD is important because it helps stabilize the plasma as the tokamak heats the plasma to temperatures necessary for fusion reactions. Traditionally, ECCD injected microwaves from the outside of the tokamak toward the heart of the plasma. Recent computer modeling at DIII-D predicted that moving the injection point toward the top of the tokamak and carefully directing it to precise points away from the center of the fusion would dramatically improve efficiency. Based on that modeling, researchers at DIII-D designed and installed a new system with the top-launch configuration. This configuration aligns the microwave trajectory with both the magnetic field and energy distribution of electrons in the plasma. This means the microwaves selectively interact with only the most energetic electrons in the plasma. This approach can be twice as efficient as traditional ECCD systems, helping to bring practical fusion energy closer to reality.

Contact

Xi Chen
General Atomics
[email protected]

Funding

This work was supported in part by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science, Fusion Energy Sciences program.

Publications

Chen, Xi, et al., “Top launch for higher off-axis electron cyclotron current drive efficiency.” EPJ Web of Conferences 203, 01004 (2019). [DOI: https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/201920301004]

Highlight Categories

Program: FES

Performer: University , SC User Facilities , FES User Facilities , DIII-D