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Abstract
The first observations of several radio frequency wave phenomena in a magnetized plasma are presented. The backward branch of the electrostatic ion-cyclotron wave, which was previously described in reports of theoretical but not experimental work, was observed. This hot magnetized plasma mode propagates for frequencies above each harmonic of the ion-cyclotron frequency. A phased antenna structure, inserted into a neon plasma, excited the wave. An experimental dispersion relation produced from probe measurements of the mode agrees with the dispersion relation predicted using linear theory.
Fast wave current drive in a toroidal plasma was observed for the first time. A loop antenna launched the fast Alfven wave in the range of high ion-cyclotron harmonics, (omega)/(OMEGA) = O(10). Signals from magnetic loop probes, Langmuir probes, and FIR laser scattering revealed the identity of the mode. Using a single antenna to launch the wave into a plasma containing a unidirectional electron beam, the circulating current increased according to the rf power applied. This increase in current occurs when the plasma is sufficiently dense to support fast wave propagation. Fast wave current drive may be a desirable method of sustaining the toroidal current in a fusion reactor.
A fast wave antenna also excites slow wave resonance cones, i.e., lower-hybrid waves, as shown here for the first time. This process occurs in the same frequency range of high ion-cyclotron harmonics as fast wave current drive, and may represent an undesirable loss mechanism.
A far-infrared laser scattering diagnostic was developed for detecting coherent radio frequency waves. In this system, an unusual detection method employing two lock-in amplifiers reduced noise from rf pickup and broadband noise. A criterion is presented for its use. A new type of cathode for producing plasmas, used in the fast wave experiment, consists of a lanthanum-hexaboride emissive element heated by a graphite resistor. Inserted into the plasma, it emits a 400 eV beam along the magnetic field lines.
