Development of an ICRH antenna system at W7-X for plasma heating and wall conditioning

Abstract An ICRH antenna system is under construction to be ready for use in the operational phase 1.2 of W7-X. A two strap antenna, with a surface adapted to the 3D shape of the Last Closed Flux Surface (LCFS) of the standard magnetic configuration (m/n = 5/5), will be installed in the equatorial plane on the low field side of W7-X. The antenna system is optimised for plasma heating and wall conditioning in presence of the magnetic field in the frequency range 25–38 MHz. Each strap is short-circuited on one end, is pre-matched using a tunable capacitor on the other end with connection to the RF power source about halfway in the poloidal direction. To allow optimal coupling to different magnetic configurations in W7-X the antenna can be moved radially over a distance of 350 mm. The cooling circuits in the antenna head are designed to sustain cw W7-X plasma operation in a retracted position and 2 MW ICRH pulses with maximum 10 s duration every 300 s close to the LCFS.