Coupling characteristics of the ITER relevant lower hybrid antenna in Tore Supra: experiments and modelling

摘要

A new concept of lower hybrid antenna for current drive has been proposed for ITER [Bibet et al, Nuclear Fusion 1995]: the Passive Active Multijunction (PAM) antenna that relies on a periodic combination of active and passive waveguides. An actively cooled PAM antenna at 3.7 GHz has been recently installed on the tokamak Tore Supra. The paper summarizes the comprehensive experimental characterization of the linear coupling properties of the PAM antenna to the Tore Supra plasmas. These experimental results are systematically compared with the linear wave coupling theory via the linear ALOHA code. Good agreement between experimental results and ALOHA have been obtained. The detailed validation of the coupling modelling is an important step toward the validation of the PAM concept in view of further optimizing the electromagnetic properties of the future ITER antenna.