ECRH current drive studies in the CLEO tokamak

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Abstract
Non-inductive current drive using second harmonic ECRH at both 28 GHz and 60 GHz has been studied in the CLEO tokamak. At 60 GHz, RF driven currents of up to 5 kA have been observed at e = 4 × 1018m−3 for 185 kW of injected power, indicating an efficiency of η ≡ eIRFR0/PRF = 0.001 (1020 m−3, A, m, W−1). The RF driven current scaled linearly with total plasma current in the range of 5-15 kA and was maximized when the cyclotron resonance was located near to the centre of the plasma. Sawtooth activity was normally strongly affected and transient sawtooth stabilization was often observed. With detailed theoretical studies it is possible to reproduce both the high absorption efficiencies and the scaling of RF driven current with resonance position seen in the 60 GHz experiments. However, the magnitude of the observed current is a factor of about three below that theoretically predicted. At 28 GHz, no evidence of RF driven current could be detected. Possible reasons for this are discussed.