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Following two initial campaigns [1], Stellarator Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) has now completed the construction phase by installation of active cooling of all plasma facing components. The machine is presently commissioned for the next campaign (OP2) aiming at 1 GJ per pulse, e.g. 100 s at 10 MW, eventually aiming at 18 GJ, e.g. 1800 s at 10 MW. The key heating system is the Electron Cyclotron Resonance Heating (ECRH) system, consisting of 10 gyrotrons with power per gyrotron ranging from 0.6 MW up to 1.0 MW at 140 GHz. A phased upgrade of the installation is in progress with the addition of 2 gyrotrons and the development of 1.5 MW and 2.0 MW gyrotrons, such that at the end of the upgrade 4 gyrotrons will be available in each power class of 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 MW [2]. The increased ECRH power, combined with O2 and X3 heating schemes at high densities, will lead to increased microwave stray radiation. This is non-absorbed microwave power that diffuses inside the vessel and is incident on all in-vessel components including vacuum windows and attached diagnostic systems. A fraction of the stray radiation is absorbed by resistive or dielectric losses of these components, leading to thermal loads that scale with stray radiation levels and pulse length. At W7-X a high power microwave stray radiation launch facility ’MISTRAL’ is available that is used to qualify invessel components for use at specified microwave surface power densities [Wm−2]. This paper reports on MISTRAL campaigns in 2020 2021 for testing of stray radiation loads during OP2 in W7-X, as well as on an EUROfusion program assessing stray radiation loads on ITER components. A dedicated, absolutely calibrated, caloric load was developed for the campaign to obtain measurement of stray radiation power levels as well as to conveniently expose samples. Amongst other we report on shielding concepts using metal enclosures combined with microwave absorbing coatings and dielectric heating of vacuum windows.

Electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH) is the main heating mechanism in the Wendelstein 7-X stellarator (W7-X). W7-X is equipped with five absolutely calibrated sniffer probes that are installed in each of the five modules of the device. The sniffer probes monitor energy flux of unabsorbed ECRH radiation in the device and interlocks are fed with the sniffer probe signals. The stray radiation level in the device changes significantly during the start-up phase: plasma is a strong microwave absorber and during its formation the stray radiation level in sniffer probes reduces by more than 95%. In this paper, we discuss the influence of neutral gas pressure and gyrotron power on plasma breakdown processes.

During the first operational phase (OP 1.1) of Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH) was the exclusive heating method and provided plasma start-up, wall conditioning, heating and current drive. Six gyrotrons were commissioned for OP1.1 and used in parallel for plasma operation with a power of up to 4.3 MW. During standard X2-heating the spatially localized power deposition with high power density allowed controlling the radial profiles of the electron temperature and the rotational transform. Even though W7-X was not fully equipped with first wall tiles and operated with a graphite limiter instead of a divertor, electron densities of n e > 3·1019 m-3 could be achieved at electron temperatures of several keV and ion temperatures above 2 keV. These plasma parameters allowed the first demonstration of a multipath O2-heating scenario, which is envisaged for safe operation near the X-cutoff-density of 1.2·1020 m-3 after full commissioning of the ECRH system in the next operation phase OP1.2.

During the last years, electron cyclotron heating (ECH) was proven to be one of the most attractive heating schemes for stellarators because it provides net-current-free plasma startup and heating. Both the stellarator Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X), which is under construction at the Max-Planck-Institut fur Plasmaphysik, Greifswald, Germany, and the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) tokamak, which will be built in Cadarache, France, will be equipped with a strong ECH and current-drive system. Both systems are comparable in frequency and have continuous-wave capability (140 GHz, 10 MW for W7-X and 170 GHz, 24 MW for ITER). The commissioning of the ECH plant for W7-X is well underway; the status of the project and the first integrated full-power test results from two modules are reported and may provide valuable input for the ITER plant. The ten gyrotrons at W7-X will be arranged in two subgroups symmetrically to a central beam duct in the ECH hall. The RF wave of each subgroup will be combined and transmitted by a purely optical multibeam-waveguide (MBWG) transmission line from the gyrotrons to the torus. The combination of five 1 MW gyrotron beams to one beam line with a power of 5 MW reduces the complexity of the system considerably. The single- and MBWG mirrors and the polarizers have been manufactured. Cold tests of a full-size uncooled prototype line delivered an efficiency exceeding 90%. The microwave power will be launched to the plasma through ten chemical-vapor-deposited-diamond barrier windows and in-vessel quasi-optical plug-in launchers, allowing each 1-MW RF beam to be steered independently. The polarization, as well as the poloidal and toroidal launch angles, will be adjusted individually to provide optimum conditions for different heating and current-drive scenarios. Index Terms--Electron cyclotron heating (ECH), high-power continuous-wave (CW) gyrotron, quasi-optical transmission, stellarator.

The first series tube of the gyrotrons for the 10-MW electron cyclotron resonance heating system of the stellarator W7-X was tested at Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe (FZK) and yielded a total output power of 0.98 MW, with an efficiency of 31% (without a single-stage depressed collector) in short-pulse operation and of 0.92 MW in pulses of 180 s (efficiency of almost 45% at a depression voltage of 29 kV). The Gaussian mode output power was 0.91 MW. The pulselength at full power (1 MW) is limited at FZK by the available power supply. At a reduced electron beam current, it is possible to operate at longer pulselengths. At an output power of 0.57 MW (electron beam current of 29 A), the pulselength was increased to 1893 s. There was no physical reason for a limitation of this pulse: The pressure increase during the pulse was less than a factor of two and ended up at a very low value in the [10.sup.-9] mbar range. The tube was delivered to Max-Planck-Institut fur Plasmaphysik Greifswald for tests at full power and up to 30-min pulselength. The Gaussian mode RF output power, measured in a calorimetric load after a 25-m-long quasi-optical transmission line (seven mirrors), was 0.87 MW at a total output power of 0.92 MW in 30-min pulses. Again, no indications for a limitation in pulselength were found. The second series tube was tested in short-pulse operation and showed a strange behavior concerning a mode hopping which has not yet been understood. The third series gyrotron delivers up to now 0.65 MW at a pulse duration of 180 s. Preliminary operation of the prototype tube as a two-frequency gyrotron delivered 0.41 MW in 10-s pulses at 103.8 GHz (T[E.sub.21,6] mode). Index Terms--Chemical-vapor deposition (CVD)-diamond window, frequency step tuning, gyrotron, high-power microwaves, quasi-optical (q.o.) mode converter, single-stage depressed collector (SDC), stray radiation.

In the first part of this paper, the status of the 140-GHz continuously operated gyrotrons with an output power of 1 MW or the stellarator Wendelstein 7-X will be described. With the first series tube, an output power of 1000 kW has been achieved in short pulse operation (milliseconds) with an electron beam current of 40 A, and of 1150 kW at 50 A. With a pulse length of 3 min limted by the available high-voltage (HV) power supply, an output power of 920 kW at an electron beam current of about 40 A with an efficiency of 45% and a mode purity of 97.5% has been obained. At a reduced beam current of 29 A, an output power of 570 kW was measured with a pulse length of 1893 s without significant increase in tube pressure. The energy content of this pulse is almost 1.1 GJ. For the next fusion plasma device, International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), gyrotrons with a higher output power of about 2 MW are desirable. In short-pulse experiments, the feasibility of the fabrication of coaxial cavity gyrotrons with an output power up to 2-MW, continuous wave (CW), has been demonstrated, and the information necessary for a technical design has been obtained. The development of a long-pulse 2-MW coaxial cavity gyrotron started within a European coopera tion. In parallel to the design and fabrication of an industrial prototype gyrotron, a short-pulse preprototype gyrotron has been operated to verify the design of critical components. An output power of 1.2 MW with an efficiency of 20% has been achieved. The development of frequency tunable gyrotrons operating in the range from 105 to 140 GHz for stabilization of current driven plasma instabilities in fusion plasma devices (neoclassical tearing modes) is another task in the development of gyrotrons at the Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe. Index Terms--Coaxial gyrotron, diamond window, frequency tuning, gyrotron, high-power microwaves, quasi-optical mode converter, single-stage depressed collector, step tunability, stray radiation.

The feasibility of fabrication of coaxial cavity gyrotrons with an output power up to 2 MW, CW is demonstrated in a short pulse experiments and obtained information necessary for a technical design. The status of the development of the 140-GHz continuously operating gyrotrons with an output power of 1MW for the stellarator Wendelstein 7-X is described.

During the last few years, electron-cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH) and electron-cyclotron current drive (ECCD) has proven to be one of the most attractive heating schemes for stellarators, as it provides net current free plasma start up and heating. Extensive measurements on stellarators at Garching provide a solid physical and technological basis for the ECRH system on the new stellarator facility W7-X, which is now under construction at the Max Planck Institute of Plasma Physics, Greifswald, Germany. The ECRH system will be built up from ten gyrotrons each with a power of 1 MW at a frequency of 140 GHz operating under almost stationary conditions (30 min.). The scientific goals of the superconducting stellarator and the demands for the ECRH system including the gyrotron development and the transmission lines are discussed. Index Terms--Diamond window, gyrotron, high-power microwaves, stellarator, transmission line, W7-X.

This paper reports about a novel approach to the absolute intensity calibration of an electron cyclotron emission (ECE) spectroscopy system. Typically, an ECE radiometer consists of tens of separated frequency channels corresponding to different plasma locations. An absolute calibration of the overall diagnostic including near plasma optics and transmission line is achieved with blackbody sources at LN2 temperature and room temperature via a hot/cold calibration mirror unit. As the thermal emission of the calibration source is typically a few thousand times lower than the receiver noise temperature, coherent averaging over several hours is required to get a sufficient signal to noise ratio. A forward model suitable for any radiometer calibration using the hot/cold method and a periodic switch between them has been developed and used to extract the voltage difference between the hot and cold temperature source via Bayesian analysis. In contrast to the classical analysis which evaluates only the reference temperatures, the forward model takes into account intermediate effective temperatures caused by the finite beam width and thus uses all available data optimally. This allows the evaluation of weak channels where a classical analysis would not be feasible, is statistically rigorous, and provides a measurement of the beam width. By using a variance scaling factor, a model sensitive adaptation of the absolute uncertainties can be implemented, which will be used for the combined diagnostic Bayesian modeling analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]