Fundamental mode rectangular waveguide system for electron-cyclotron resonant heating (ECRH) for tandem mirror experiment-upgrade (TMX-U)

We present a brief history of TMX-U's electron cyclotron resonant heating (ECRH) progress. We emphasize the 2-year performance of the system, which is composed of four 200-kW pulsed gyrotrons operated at 28 GHz. This system uses WR42 waveguide inside the vacuum vessel, and includes barrier windows, twists, elbows, and antennas, as well as custom-formed waveguides. Outside the TMX-U vessel are directional couplers, detectors, elbows, and waveguide bends in WR42 rectangular waveguide. An arc detector, mode filter, eight-arm mode converter, and water load in the 2.5-in. circular waveguide are attached directly to the gyrotron. Other specific areas discussed include the operational performance of the TMX-U pulsed gyrotrons, windows and component arcing, alignment, mode generation, and extreme temperature variations. Solutions for a number of these problems are described.