A stochastic magnetic boundary, produced by an applied edge resonant magnetic perturbation, is used to suppress most large edge-localized modes (ELMs) in high confinement (H-mode) plasmas. The resulting H mode displays rapid, small oscillations with a bursty character modulated by a coherent 130 Hz envelope. The H mode transport barrier and core confinement are unaffected by the stochastic boundary, despite a threefold drop in the toroidal rotation. These results demonstrate that stochastic boundaries are compatible with H modes and may be attractive for ELM control in next-step fusion tokamaks.

Intermittent plasma objects ͑IPOs͒ featuring higher pressure than the surrounding plasma, and responsible for ϳ50% of the EϫB T radial transport, are observed in the scrape off layer ͑SOL͒ and edge of the DIII-D tokamak ͓J. Watkins et al., Rev. Sci. Instrum. 63, 4728 ͑1992͔͒. Conditional averaging reveals that the IPOs, produced at a rate of ϳ3ϫ10 3 s Ϫ1 , are positively charged and also polarized, featuring poloidal electric fields of up to 4000 V/m. The IPOs move poloidally at speeds of up to 5000 m/s and radially with EϫB T /B 2 velocities of ϳ2600 m/s near the last closed flux surface ͑LCFS͒, and ϳ330 m/s near the wall. The IPOs slow down as they shrink in radial size from 4 cm at the LCFS to 0.5 cm near the wall. The IPOs appear in the SOL of both L and H mode discharges and are responsible for nearly 50% of the SOL radial EϫB transport at all radii; however, they are highly reduced in absolute amplitude in H-mode conditions.

This paper reviews measurements of edge plasma turbulence in toroidal magnetic fusion devices with an emphasis on recent results in tokamaks. The dominant feature of edge turbulence is a high level of broadband density fluctuations with a relative amplitude δn/n ∼ 5-100%, accompanied by large potential and electron temperature fluctuations. The frequency range of this turbulence is ∼10 kHz-1 MHz, and the size scale is typically ∼0.1-10 cm perpendicular to the magnetic field but many metres along the magnetic field, i.e. the structure is nearly that of 2D 'filaments'. Large intermittent bursts or 'blobs' are usually observed in the scrape-off layer. Diagnostic and data analysis techniques are reviewed and the main experimental results are summarized. Recent comparisons of experimental results with edge turbulence theory are discussed, and some directions for future experiments are suggested.

Intermittent plasma objects ͑IPOs͒, featuring higher pressure than the surrounding plasma, are responsible for ϳ50% of the EϫB T radial transport in the scrape off layer ͑SOL͒ of the Doublet III D ͑DIII-D͒ tokamak ͓J. L. Luxon, Nucl. Fusion 42, 614 ͑2002͔͒ in L-and H-mode discharges. Conditional averaging reveals that the IPOs are positively charged and feature internal poloidal electric fields of up to 4000 V/m. The IPOs move radially with EϫB T /B 2 velocities of ϳ2600 m/s near the last closed flux surface ͑LCFS͒, and ϳ330 m/s near the wall. The IPOs slow down as they shrink in size from 2 cm at the LCFS to 0.5 cm near the wall. The skewness ͑i.e., asymmetry of fluctuations from the average͒ of probe and beam emission spectroscopy data indicate IPO formation at or near the LCFS and the existence of positive and negative IPOs which move in opposite directions. The particle content of the IPOs at the LCFS is linearly dependent on the local density and decays over ϳ3 cm into the SOL while their temperature decays much faster ͑ϳ1 cm͒.

Cross-field fluctuation-driven transport is studied in edge and scrape-off layer (SOL) plasmas in the DIII-D tokamak using a fast reciprocating Langmuir probe array allowing local measurements of the fluctuation-driven particle and heat fluxes. Two different non-diffusive mechanisms that can contribute strongly to the cross-field transport in the SOL of high-density discharges are identified and compared. The first of these involves intermittent transport events that are observed at the plasma separatrix and in the SOL. Intermittence has qualitatively similar character in L-mode and ELM-free H-mode. Low-amplitude ELMs observed in high-density H-mode produce in the SOL periods with cross-field transport enhanced to L-mode levels and featuring intermittent events similar to those in L-mode. The intermittent transport events are compatible with the concept of plasma filaments propagating across the SOL due to E × B drifts. The intermittent character of the transport in the SOL is also in agreement with predictions of the non-linear numerical simulations performed with an imposed driving flux. Another type of non-diffusive transport is often seen in high-density H-modes with prolonged ELM-free periods, where the transport near the separatrix is dominated by quasi-coherent modes driving particle and/or heat fluxes exceeding L-mode levels. These modes may play an important role by providing particle and/or heat exhaust between ELMs.