20 years of ECRH at W7-A and W7-AS

Basic research on high-power ECRH started 20 years ago at IPP using 28 GHz pulses with 200 kW for 40 ms at the W7-A stellarator. These pilot experiments triggered a strong activity of exploration of the unique capabilities of localized heating and current drive. The achievements in physics were strongly linked with progress in source and transmission line technology. The capability and versatility of ECRH are reviewed using W7-A and W7-AS as example experiments; the latter was shut down on July 31, 2002. The milestone achievements are discussed. Standard heating scenarios such as O-mode and X-mode as well as advanced scenarios like mode-conversion heating via the O–X–B process at different harmonics were investigated and selected results are presented. First experiments with current drive by Bernstein-waves are reported. The physics of wave interaction with stellarator-specific trapped particle populations is discussed. The results from W7-A and W7-AS establish the experimental and technological bases for the 10 MW, CW ECRH system at W7-X, which aims to demonstrate the inherent steady-state capability of stellarators.