In this paper, experimental observations of spontaneously excited waves in the ion cyclotron range of frequency (ICRF) on JT-60U are described. The fluctuations in ICRF are driven by the presence of non-thermal ion distribution in magnetically confined plasmas. Two types of magnetic fluctuations are detected: one is due to high-energy D ions from neutral beam (NB) injections and the other is due to fusion products (FPs) of 3He and T ions. These fluctuations have been reported as ion cyclotron emissions (ICEs) in the burning plasma experiments on large tokamaks. This paper describes the first measurement of the spatial structures of the excited modes in the poloidal and toroidal directions. It is confirmed by using ICRF antennas as pickup loops that all modes excited spontaneously have magnetic components. The modes due to D ions have zero or a small toroidal wave number k z . On the other hand, the measurement of finite k z in the modes due to FP ions supports the excitation of the Alfvén waves, which is the possible origin of FP-ICEs. It is also observed that the excited modes due to FP ions (3He and T ions) have different characteristics: driven by different NBs and having different parameter dependences. ICE due to T ions has no harmonics and the value of ω/Ωci is smaller than that due to 3He. Both beam-driven ICEs and FP-ICEs are clearly observed and their spatial structures are obtained on JT-60U.

Dynamic mode interaction between fundamental and second-harmonic modes has been observed in high-power sub-terahertz gyrotrons [T. Notake et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 225002 (2009); T. Saito et al. Phys. Plasmas 19, 063106 (2012)]. Interaction takes place between a parasitic fundamental or first-harmonic (FH) mode and an operating second-harmonic (SH) mode, as well as among SH modes. In particular, nonlinear excitation of the parasitic FH mode in the hard self-excitation regime with assistance of a SH mode in the soft self-excitation regime was clearly observed. Moreover, both cases of stable two-mode oscillation and oscillation of the FH mode only were observed. These observations and theoretical analyses of the dynamic behavior of the mode interaction verify the nonlinear hard self-excitation of the FH mode.

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High-frequency fluctuations in the ion cyclotron range of frequency (ICRF) are excited in magnetically confined plasmas because of the distortion of velocity distribution. In deuterium plasma experiments in JT-60U, ion cyclotron emission (ICE) detected as magnetic fluctuations is observed using ICRF antennas as pickup loops. The toroidal wave-numbers can be estimated using the phase differences between the signals from antenna elements arrayed in the toroidal direction. In this manuscript, ICE due to fusion product (FP) H ions, ICE(H), which is identified separately from the second-harmonic ICE caused by D ions, is newly reported. ICE is considered to result from spontaneous excitation of magnetosonic waves associated with FP high-energy ions. ICE caused by 3 He ions and T ions has already been identified and confirmed to have finite toroidal wave-numbers. In contrast, ICE caused by ions originating in neutral beam injection has no toroidal wave-numbers. It is suggested that the appearance of ICE(H) depends strongly on the plasma density, and weak magnetic shear operation is one of the possible conditions for the observation of ICE(H).

A high-power pulsed gyrotron is under development for 300 GHz-band collective Thomson scattering (CTS) diagnostics in the Large Helical Device (LHD). High-density plasmas in the LHD require a probe wave with power exceeding 100 kW in the sub-terahertz region to obtain sufficient signal intensity and large scattering angles. At the same time, the frequency bandwidth should be less than several tens of megahertz to protect the CTS receiver using a notch filter against stray radiations. Moreover, duty cycles of ∼ 10% are desired for the time domain analysis of the CTS spectrum.At present, a 77 GHz gyrotron for electron cyclotron heating is used as a CTS wave source in the LHD. However, the use of such a low-frequency wave suffers from refraction, cutoff and absorption at the electron cyclotron resonance layer. Additionally, the signal detection is severely affected by background noise from electron cyclotron emission. To resolve those problems, highpower gyrotrons in the 300 GHz range have been developed.In this frequency range, avoiding mode competition is critical to realizing high-power and stable oscillation. A moderately over-moded cavity was investigated to isolate a desired mode from neighbouring modes. After successful tests with a prototype tube, the practical one was constructed with a cavity for TE 22,2 operation mode, a triode electron gun forming intense laminar electron beams, and an internal mode convertor. We have experimentally confirmed single mode oscillation of the TE 22,2 mode at the frequency of 303.3 GHz. The spectrum peak is sufficiently narrow. The output power of 290 kW has been obtained at the moment.

A high-power pulse gyrotron was developed to generate a probe wave for 300 GHz-band collective Thomson scattering (CTS) diagnostics in the Large Helical Device. In this frequency range, avoiding mode competition is critical to realizing high-power and stable oscillation with a narrow frequency bandwidth. A moderately over-moded cavity was investigated to ensure sufficient isolation of a desired mode from neighbouring modes, and to achieve high power output simultaneously. A cavity with the TE 14,2 operation mode, a triode electron gun with an intense laminar electron beam, and an internal mode convertor were designed to construct a prototype tube. It was experimentally observed that oscillation of the TE 14,2 mode was strong enough for mode competition, and provided high power with sufficient stability. The oscillation characteristics associated with the electron beam properties were compared with the numerical characteristics to find an optimum operating condition. As a result, single-mode operation with maximum output power of 246 kW was demonstrated at 294 GHz with 65 kV/14 A electron beam, yielding efficiency of ∼27%. The radiation pattern was confirmed to be highly Gaussian. The duration of the 130 kW pulse, which is presently limited by the power supply, was extended up to 30 µs. The experimental results validate our design concept and indicate the potential for realizing a gyrotron with higher power and longer pulse toward practical use in 300 GHz CTS diagnostics.

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