Abstract. The 3-strap antennas in ASDEX Upgrade allow ICRF operation with low tungsten (W) content in the confined plasma with W-coated antenna limiters. With the 3-strap antenna configuration, the local W impurity source at the antenna is drastically reduced and the core W concentration is similar to the boron coated 2-strap antenna at a given ICRF power. Operation of the 3-strap antennas with the power ratio between the central and the outer straps of 1.5:1 and 2:1 is adopted to minimize the ICRF-specific W release.
A comparison of the ASDEX Upgrade 3-strap ICRF antenna data with the linear electromagnetic TOPICA calculations is presented. The comparison substantiates a reduction of the local electric field at the radially protruding plasma-facing elements of the antenna as a relevant approach for minimizing tungsten (W) sputtering in conditions when the slow wave is strongly evanescent. The measured reaction of the time-averaged RF current at the antenna limiters to the antenna feeding variations is less sensitive than predicted by the calculations. This is likely to have been caused by temporal and spatial fluctuations in the 3D plasma density distribution affected by local non-linear interactions. The 3-strap antenna with the W-coated limiters produces drastically less W sputtering compared to the W-coated 2-strap antennas. This is consistent with the non-linear asymptotic SSWICH-SW calculations for RF sheaths.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.