Strong mitigation of edge-localized modes has been observed on Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak, when lower hybrid waves (LHWs) are applied to H-mode plasmas with ion cyclotron resonant heating. This has been demonstrated to be due to the formation of helical current filaments flowing along field lines in the scrape-off layer induced by LHW. This leads to the splitting of the outer divertor strike points during LHWs similar to previous observations with resonant magnetic perturbations. The change in the magnetic topology has been qualitatively modeled by considering helical current filaments in a field-line-tracing code.

Upgrade of the imaging X-ray crystal spectrometers continues in order to fulfill the high-performance diagnostics requirements on EAST. For the tangential spectrometer, a new large pixelated two-dimensional detector was deployed on tokamaks for time-resolved X-ray imaging. This vacuum-compatible detector has an area of 83.8 × 325.3 mm(2), a framing rate over 150 Hz, and water-cooling capability for long-pulse discharges. To effectively extend the temperature limit, a double-crystal assembly was designed to replace the previous single crystals for He-like argon line measurement. The tangential spectrometer employed two crystal slices attached to a common substrate and part of He- and H-like Ar spectra could be recorded on the same detector when crystals were chosen to have similar Bragg angles. This setup cannot only extend the measurable Te up to 10 keV in the core region, but also extend the spatial coverage since He-like argon ions will be present in the outer plasma region. Similarly, crystal slices for He-like iron and argon spectra were adopted on the poloidal spectrometer. Wavelength calibration for absolute rotation velocity measurement will be studied using cadmium characteristic L-shell X-ray lines excited by plasma radiation. A Cd foil is placed before the crystal and can be inserted and retracted for in situ wavelength calibration. The Geant4 code was used to estimate X-ray fluorescence yield and optimize the thickness of the foil.

A two-crystal assembly was deployed on the tangential X-ray crystal spectrometer to measure both helium-like and hydrogen-like spectra on EAST. High-quality helium-like and hydrogen-like spectra were observed simultaneously for the first time on one detector for a wide range of plasma parameters. Profiles of line-integrated core ion temperatures inferred from two spectra were consistent. Since tungsten was adopted as the upper divertor material, one tungsten line (W XLIV at 4.017 Å) on the short-wavelength side of the Lyman-α line (Lα1) was identified for typical USN discharges, which was diffracted by a He-like crystal (2d = 4.913 Å). Another possible Fe XXV line (1.85 Å) was observed to be located on the long-wavelength side of resonance line (w), which was diffracted from a H-like crystal (2d = 4.5622 Å) on the second order. Be-like argon lines were also observable that fill the detector space between the He-like and H-like spectra.

A two-crystal X-ray spectrometer system has been implemented in the EAST tokamak to simultaneously diagnose high- and low-temperature plasmas using He- and H-like argon spectra. But for future fusion devices like ITER and Chinese Fusion Engineering Test Reactor (CFETR), argon ions become fully stripped in the core and the intensity of the H-like lines will be significantly at high temperatures (Te > 5 keV). With increasing auxiliary heating power on EAST, the core plasma temperature could also reach 5 keV and higher. In such conditions, the use of a xenon puff becomes an appropriate choice for both ion-temperature and flow-velocity measurements. A new two-crystal system using a quartz 110 crystal (2d = 4.913 Å) to view He-like argon lines and a quartz 011 crystal (2d = 6.686 Å) to view Ne-like xenon spectra has been deployed on a poloidal X-ray crystal spectrometer. While the He-like argon spectra will be used to measure the plasma temperature in the edge plasma region, the Ne-like xenon spectra will be used for measurement in the hot core. The new crystal arrangement allows a wide temperature measurement ranging from 0.5 to 10 keV or even higher, being the first tests for burning plasmas like ITER and CFETR. The preliminary result of lab-tests, Ne-like xenon lines measurement will be presented.

A quasi-coherent mode (QCM) was measured by the tangential CO2 laser collective scattering diagnostic at high plasma electron density during both enhanced Dα/small edge-localized mode (ELM) and ELM-free H mode phases in Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST). Experimental results from only local oscillator CO2 laser scattering prove that the QCM is measured by the scattering diagnostic in the far-forward mode. The driven QCM density fluctuation (k⊥<3 cm−1) and magnetic fluctuation suggest that the QCM is an electromagnetic mode. The typical frequency of the QCM is f ≈ 26.5 kHz. A combination analysis of scattering signals and Mirnov signals suggests that the QCM has toroidal mode number n ≈ 17 and rotates along with the electron diamagnetic drift velocity direction in the lab frame. The analysis of Mirnov and reflectometer signals supports that the QCM locates in the edge pedestal region. The QCM power has been found to be related to both the Dα signal and the pedestal density gradient. A comparison of the EAST QCM and C-Mod quasi-coherent mode has been given in detail.

RF-heated H-mode plasmas are readily achieved with lower hybrid current drive and ICRF heating on experimental advanced superconducting tokamak (EAST). Characteristics of H-mode plasma rotation are studied, including the behaviors for non-stationary and stationary H-mode discharges. Experimental results indicate that substantial co-current core rotation increment is observed at L-H transition. For non-stationary discharges with multiple L-H transitions, central plasma rotation varies as the plasma enters and exits the H-mode phase. Rotation increase over L-H transition is linearly correlated with plasma stored energy for both edge localized mode (ELM)-free phases and phases with type-III ELMs. For stationary H-mode discharges with type-III ELMs, core plasma rotation profile is elevated and remains stable during the H-mode phase, although the occurrence of ELMs tends to slow down the core rotation, especially for type-I ELMs where the entire core profiles are affected. Evolution of plasma rotation is fitted with a source-free transport equation and it is found that the momentum transport is dominated by diffusion and explains the flat profile in the core. Based on the Rice scaling and for the same stored energy increase, smaller increase in the core rotation is observed for H-mode discharges with type-III ELMs than for ELM-free discharges. A linear fit indicates that the slope is 75% larger for the ELM-free discharges data.

The impurity radiation from the divertor region of the EAST tokamak is dominantly in the wavelength range of vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) due to the elevated edge electron temperature. A space-resolved VUV spectroscopy is developed to measure impurity radiation in the divertor region. An eagle-type VUV spectrometer with a focal length of 1 m is adopted in this system, equipped with a spherical grating and a charged-coupled device (CCD) detector. The performance of the VUV spectrometer is preliminarily tested on a synchrotron radiation facility. The wavelength calibration is conducted near 65 nm. It is found that the wavelength range observed by the CCD detector is about 11.07 nm around the central wavelength of about 65 nm. With a linear dispersion of 0.0053 nm/pixel, it is possible to measure the ion temperature lower than 20 eV at the edge region by analyzing the Doppler broadening of a carbon line. These test results show that the performance of the VUV spectrometer is capable of measuring divertor radiation and analyzing the ion temperature of edge impurity ions.

Impurities degrade tokamak plasma confinement by causing energy loss, diluting fuel concentration, and even terminating discharge in some extreme cases. Previously, the suppression effects of impurity accumulation due to on-axis electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH) have been studied on Experimental and Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) using extreme ultraviolet (EUV) spectroscopy. However, it is difficult to quantify changes in the tungsten (W) impurity profile since W-line emission in the EUV range cannot be easily resolved. X-ray crystal spectroscopy (XCS) is widely used to measure the ion temperature and rotation velocity of plasmas by using line emission in the soft X-ray range. In addition, the XCS can also be used to study the behavior of impurities. An in situ absolute intensity calibration of tangential XCS was conducted by analyzing calculations and measurements of bremsstrahlung radiation. After obtaining the calibration coefficient, the W44+-ion-density profiles were evaluated using Abel inversion operations and the spectral line of W XLV (W44+, 3.9095 Å). Thus, a direct observation of the W44+-impurity concentration suppressed by ECRH was accomplished. Such W44+-density profiles can be used in the future to analyze W transport in combination with impurity transport codes.