Numerical study of 28 GHz fundamental-frequency electron cyclotron resonance heating on the CN-H1 stellarator
摘要
The Chinese Heliac One (CN-H1) is planned to employ two electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH) systems operating at 2.45 GHz and 28 GHz for plasma start-up and heating, with a maximum designed magnetic field of 1 T. The ray-tracing code TRAVIS is employed to evaluate the power absorption efficiency of the 28 GHz fundamental-frequency ordinary (O1) and extraordinary (X1) modes in CN-H1 plasma. During the low-density, low-temperature start-up phase, the single pass absorption of the O1 mode across the resonance layer is weak, with the absorption efficiency not exceeding 20% when the electron temperature is below 0.4 keV. However, the absorption efficiency of the O1 mode is significantly enhanced when the wave undergoes multiple reflections and repeatedly traverses the resonance layer. Under specific conditions, the X1 mode injected from the low field side can be efficiently absorbed by low-temperature, low-density plasma, with single pass absorption efficiencies exceeding 90%, making it suitable for plasma start-up. In addition, the optimal injection angle range for heating overdense plasma via O–X–B mode conversion of the 28 GHz O1 mode is obtained through a parameter scan. Based on these results, a scheme for plasma start-up and sustainment using 28 GHz fundamental-frequency electron cyclotron waves on the CN-H1 device is proposed.