Gerd Gantenbein

Experimental Investigations and Analysis of Parasitic RF Oscillations in High-Power Gyrotrons

Megawatt gyrotrons are found to suffer from various parasitic oscillations, in particular, RF oscillations in the beam tunnel prior to the desired interaction zone (the cavity). This paper describes the experimental results from a gyrotron experiment which was dedicated to investigate parasitic oscillations in the beam tunnel and to verify improved beam-tunnel structures. A system for improved spectral measurements and a new analysis method are presented. The results verify theoretical predictions on the parasitic oscillations, and in effect validate the corresponding improved beam-tunnel structure. In addition, other types of parasitic oscillations were observed and explained.

First experimental results from the European Union 2 MW coaxial cavity ITER gyrotron prototype

Abstract 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.

First Operation of a Step-Frequency Tunable 1-MW Gyrotron With a Diamond Brewster Angle Output Window

Experimental results using a step-frequency tunable D-band gyrotron are reported. The short pulse (~3 ms) gyrotron is equipped with an elliptically brazed chemical vapor deposition (CVD) diamond Brewster angle output window. It is designed for the operation in the frequency range from 111.6 up to 165.7 GHz. Operating parameters for ten different frequencies corresponding to an equal number of different cavity operating modes has been measured. A minimum output power of 830 kW and a peak output power of 1.3 MW have been realized. For all frequencies, the parameters of the RF beam generated by the internal quasioptical converter, such as fundamental Gaussian contents and beam waist, are sufficiently good to allow an efficient coupling of the RF power out of the window. This is the first time a diamond Brewster angle window has been used in a high power gyrotron (~1 MW). Such a system offers the path to a simple and compact window solution for high power broadband applications using gyrotrons.

From Series Production of Gyrotrons for W7-X Toward EU-1 MW Gyrotrons for ITER

Europe is devoting significant joint efforts to develop and to manufacture MW-level gyrotrons for electron cyclotron heating and current drive of future plasma experiments. The two most important ones are the stellarator Wendelstein W7-X at Greifswald and the Tokamak ITER at Cadarache. While the series production of the 140 GHz, 1 MW, CW gyrotrons for the 10-MW electron cyclotron resonance heating system of stellarator W7-X is proceeding, the European GYrotron Consortium is presently developing the EU-1 MW, 170 GHz, CW gyrotron for ITER. The initial design had already been initiated in 2007, as a risk mitigation measure during the development of the advanced ITER EU-2-MW coaxial-cavity gyrotron. The target of the ITER EU-1-MW conventional-cavity design is to benefit as much as possible from the experiences made during the development and series production of the W7-X gyrotron and of the experiences gained from the earlier EU-2-MW coaxial-cavity gyrotron design. Hence, the similarity of the construction will be made visible in this paper. During 2012, the scientific design of the ITER EU-1-MW gyrotron components has been finalized. In collaboration with the industrial partner Thales electron devices, Vélizy, France, the industrial design of the technological parts of the gyrotron is being completed. A short-pulse prototype is under development to support the design of the CW prototype tube. The technological path toward the EU ITER-1 MW gyrotron and the final design will be presented.

Electron trapping mechanisms in magnetron injection guns

A key parameter for the gyrotron operation and efficiency is the presence of trapped electrons. Two electron trapping mechanisms can take place in gyrotrons: (i) the adiabatic trap and (ii) the magnetic potential well. Their influence on the gyrotron operation is analyzed. Two gun design criteria are then proposed to suppress both mechanisms in order to minimize the risk of possible problems. Experimental results of three high power gyrotrons are presented and their performance is correlated to the presence of populations of trapped electrons. Finally, some very general gun design principles are presented for the limitation of harmful electron trapping.

A generic mode selection strategy for high-order mode gyrotrons operating at multiple frequencies

High-power, high-frequency gyrotrons for electron cyclotron resonance heating and current drive, such as proposed for the demonstration thermonuclear fusion reactor DEMO, require operating modes of very high order. As it is shown, the selection of the operating modes for such gyrotrons can be based on multi-frequency operability. A general selection strategy is derived, suitable for multi-purpose multi-frequency gyrotrons with quasi-optical mode converter and single-disc output window. Two examples, one of them relevant for future DEMO gyrotron designs, are discussed.

Present Status of the New Multifrequency ECRH System for ASDEX Upgrade

A new multifrequency electron cyclotron resonance heating system is under construction for the Axially Symmetric Divertor Experiment (ASDEX) Upgrade tokamak experiment. For the first time in a fusion device, this system employs multifrequency gyrotrons that are step-tunable in the range 105-140 GHz. In its final stage the system will consist of four gyrotrons with a total power of 4 MW and a pulselength of 10 s. The first two gyrotrons, working at 105 and 140 GHz, were installed and tested. Transmission line elements such as corrugated waveguides, polarizer mirrors and vacuum windows are designed to cope with this frequency band. The system includes fast steerable launchers at the front end that will allow for localized feedback-controlled power deposition in the plasma.

Highly Efficient Quasi-Optical Mode Converter for a Multifrequency High-Power Gyrotron

A highly efficient quasi-optical mode converter with a bandwidth of 38 GHz has been designed and tested. The mode converter combines low-diffraction losses and a Gaussian mode content up to 97% for a set of nine modes in the range of 105 to 143 GHz for a 1-MW CW gyrotron. This was achieved using a dimpled-wall waveguide antenna (launcher), one quasi-elliptical mirror, and two toroidal mirrors. The optimization of the launcher was done using coupled-mode theory. The simulation results show a well-focused Gaussian beam for all nine operating modes. The curvature radii of the toroidal mirrors were determined by Gaussian mode transformation (ABCD-law) and subsequently optimized for a multimode operation. The simulations of the quasi-optical mode converter are based on the electric field integral equation and, thus, are 3-D. Experimental low-power measurements show close agreement with predictions.

Transient Millimeter-Wave Signal Analysis With Unambiguous RF Spectrum Reconstruction

In this paper, a measurement system for the detection of time-dependent effects in broadband spectra of high-power millimeter-wave sources is demonstrated. The heterodyne approach with sub-harmonic mixers enables high dynamic range and configuration flexibility, but typically also imposes severe problems on the analysis of transient or instationary phenomena through frequency ambiguity. A key feature of the presented system is an unambiguous reconstruction of the RF spectrum from the detected IF spectra. This is done by evaluating the upper and lower mixer sidebands of two parallel heterodyne receiver channels simultaneously, resulting in a comparatively high instantaneous measurement bandwidth of 7 GHz per channel pair and a high dynamic range of 50-60 dB in the frequency range 110-170 GHz. Sample measurements obtained during the occurrence of an arc at the dielectric output window of a 140-GHz megawatt-class gyrotron demonstrate the unique capabilities of the system for detecting highly transient and broadband effects in the tubes output spectrum.

An Inverse Magnetron Injection Gun for the KIT 2-MW Coaxial-Cavity Gyrotron

An inverse magnetron injection gun (MIG) has been designed for the 2-MW, 170-GHz, coaxial-cavity gyrotron built at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. The inverse gun design could offer the possibility for the implementation of a larger emitter ring without the need for a bigger bore hole in the magnet compared with the conventional type of MIGs. Considering the fundamental beam parameters, an excellent beam quality has been achieved in numerical simulation. Electron-trapping suppression criteria were considered during the design phase of the MIG.