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At least 271 records · Page 15
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2020

Pulsed RF schemes for tearing mode stabilization

The RF stabilization of tearing modes with current condensation has the potential to increase stabilization efficiency and loosen power localization requirements. Such benefits stem from the cooperative feedback between the RF deposition and resulting island temperature perturbation governed by diffusion. A self consistent treatment of the damping of an rf ray as it traverses the island shows that low damping scenarios can require unfavorably high powers to overcome initial power leakage and effectively capitalize on the nonlinear effect. In this work it is demonstrated that for such regimes,modulated stabilization schemes can achieve significant improvements in heating and current drive contributions to stabilization for the same average power as a continuous wave scheme. The impact of modulation frequency and duty cycle on the performance is explored, the results of which suggest modulation strategies in which the pulsing periods are kept on the order of a diffusive time.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Wide-Bandgap Semiconductor Amplifiers for Fusion Plasma Heating and Control

This paper discusses power electronics developed under the ARPA-E GAMOW program to support nuclear fusion power production. The goal of this project was to develop and assess the potential for wide-bandgap (WBG) semiconductor devices in power electronics to enable high-efficiency and high-voltage solid-state systems for fusion plasma generation, heating, and control. The power electronics use an architecture in which multiple high-power boards can be combined to produce megawatt-level power, where using multiple boards provides high reliability. Two main areas of power electronics boards are developed in this project for fusion plasma heating and control applications: (1) pulse generation and control and (2) radiofrequency generation. The first area is for boards capable of driving high-voltage millisecond pulses at high duty cycles. The envisioned application of these pulses is in plasma control of magnetohydrodynamic instabilities, plasma position, and edge-localized modes. Pulse-width modulation allows for the implementation of a wide variety of linear and nonlinear control systems. The boards developed for this project could actuate control coils based on digital input signals and can be parallelized to provide megawatts of output power. The design of the pulse generator is a low-side load switch. A load switch was designed and constructed that utilized 2-kV-rated field-effect transistor (FET)-based cascodes developed by Qorvo under this project to perform initial testing of these cascodes. The second area is being implemented using class E amplifiers with WBG devices and a reactance steering network to handle inductive or capacitive plasma loads. Applications include ion cyclotron resonance heating (ICRH) and high-harmonic fast-wave (HHFW) heating. A class E reactance steering network is demonstrated in modeling and experiment with a resistive-inductive load that models an inductively-coupled plasma. Power combining of boards with class E reactance steering networks is also simulated and demonstrated experimentally, to enable scaling up to high power. Modeling of high-power-density cooling and remaining useful life is conducted to enable reliable, effectively cooled high-power electronics for fusion applications.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Effect of rotation on negative triangularity plasmas in DIII-D

At the DIII-D tokamak, plasmas with negative triangularity (NT) have been found to have similar energy confinement times as H-mode plasmas with positive triangularity. These NT plasmas also have a stable edge that inhibits H-mode, lacks dangerous edge transients, and has naturally low impurity confinement. For these reasons, NT plasmas have the potential to be a transformative reactor scenario. To determine the importance of strong co-current neutral beam torque for NT performance at DIII-D, scans of neutral beam torque at constant neutral beam power have been performed. These scans have shown that the energy confinement time for a basic, inductive NT scenario (q 95 ≈ 2.8) decreases by 16% when torque is reduced to reactor levels. This reduction in confinement can be replicated with gyrofluid modeling that isolates the role of E x B shear in the change in transport. In a separate set of discharges with lower plasma current (q 95 ≈ 2.5), no significant correlation between confinement time and rotation was found. Throughout this investigation, excellent MHD stability was observed, even with very low toroidal rotation. Further, low impurity confinement was found at multiple rotation levels. Throughout the campaign, rotation near the edge was counter-current, consistent with the measurement of counter-current intrinsic edge rotation, and these observations agree with NT results from the TCV tokamak.

confinement↗
DOE OSTI2020

Integrating Radio-Over-Fiber Communication System and BOTDR Sensor System

In this paper, we propose and experimentally demonstrate for the first time, the integration of a radio-over-fiber (RoF) communication system and a Brillouin optical time-domain reflectometry (BOTDR) distributed sensor system using a single optical fiber link. In this proof-of-concept integrated system, the communication system is composed of three modulation formats of quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK), 16-quadrature amplitude modulation (16-QAM) and 64-QAM, which are modulated onto an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) signal. Whereas, the BOTDR sensor system is used for strain and/or temperature monitoring over the fiber distance with a spatial resolution of 5 m using a 25 km single-mode silica fiber. The error vector magnitude (EVM) is analyzed in three modulation formats in the presence of various BOTDR input pump powers. Using QPSK modulation, optimized 18 dBm sensing and 10 dBm data power, the measured EVM values with and without bandpass filter are 3.5% and 14.5%, respectively. The proposed system demonstrates a low temperature measurement error (±0.49 °C at the end of 25 km) and acceptable EVM values, which were within the 3GPP requirements. The proposed integrated system can be effectively applied for practical applications, which significantly reduces the fiber infrastructure cost by effective usage of a single optical fiber link.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2024

Photonic Crystal Surface Emitting GaSb-Based Type-I Quantum Well Diode Lasers

The GaSb-based epitaxially regrown monolithic diode PCSELs operating near 2 μm at room temperature in continuous wave regime and generating 30 mW of output power from 200 μm diameter aperture have been designed and fabricated. Here, the devices demonstrated CW threshold current density of about 500 A/cm 2 . The laser output power was enhanced thanks to increased buried void area fill-factor in the photonic crystal layer with multiple voids per unit cell. The PCSEL generated ultra-low divergence donut shape beams at the currents near threshold. At higher injection currents, the device brightness was limited by excitation of the higher order lateral modes. Generation of the vector-vortex beams of different types by different band edge states of the buried photonic crystal was observed.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Solvent Polarity Independent Symmetry-Breaking Charge Separation in a Slip-Stacked Covalent Terrylene Monoimide Dimer

The design of organic materials capable of efficient photoinduced charge separation in low-polarity environments is a critical challenge for advancing organic photovoltaics. Symmetry-breaking charge separation (SB-CS) offers a promising route to efficient charge separation with minimal energy loss; however, in conventional organic materials this process typically relies on polar solvents to stabilize the charge-separated state. Here, we investigate a slip-stacked terrylene monoimide dimer (TMI 2 ) engineered with intrinsic electronic asymmetry to circumvent this limitation. We demonstrate through a comprehensive suite of ultrafast spectroscopic techniques that TMI 2 undergoes remarkably efficient SB-CS regardless of solvent polarity enabled by the permanent dipole moment of TMI and the accessible intramolecular charge-transfer (ICT) character of its monomer units. Furthermore, analysis of vibronic coherences reveals that the initial state mixing is actively driven by a 193 cm –1 intermolecular mode, while the final SB-CS state is marked by a distinct vibrational fingerprint of the radical ion pair product. Our findings reveal how the intrinsic electronic asymmetry of the TMI monomers that constitute TMI 2 creates an efficient charge separation pathway that precludes the need for external stabilization from a polar solvent. Here, this work establishes a powerful molecular design principle for leveraging intrinsic monomeric asymmetry to achieve efficient charge separation in low-dielectric environments, with significant implications for the development of next-generation organic optoelectronic materials.

Aromatic compounds↗
DOE OSTI2024

A magnetic diagnostic suite for the Pegasus-III experiment

Pegasus-III is an ultralow aspect ratio spherical tokamak providing a dedicated US experiment for comparative solenoid-free startup studies. A new magnetic diagnostic suite for equilibrium and low frequency (<200 kHz) magnetohydrodynamic mode analysis has been installed. These new diagnostics address the significant challenges of measuring magnetic field in a high noise environment with the majority constrained to fit in an 8 mm diagnostic gap on the high field side. Electrostatic switching noise generated by the 16 independent current feedback-controlled power supplies produces dV cm /dt ~ 1 kV/μs and volt level common mode noise on the magnetics. Immunity to this switching noise is accomplished through differential signal runs and signal processing, along with end-to-end electromagnetic interference shielding. The magnetic measurements are simultaneously digitized at 1 MHz and conditioned by precision 8 pole Butterworth filters with a corner frequency of 200 kHz to prevent aliasing down to the 16-bit level over the full passband. Ex-vessel calibrations of the B p coils were completed with a typical uncertainty of <0.5%. Stray toroidal field pickup from coil misalignment or positioning errors is corrected using a physics-based model. Comparisons of the corrected measurements to modeling agree to within 1.3% on average. This is within the 1.5% measurement uncertainty that a sensitivity analysis determined is needed for accurate fast boundary and equilibrium reconstruction.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Enhanced Component Performance Study: Motor-Operated Valves 1998-2024

This report presents an enhanced performance evaluation of motor-operated valves (MOVs) at U.S. commercial nuclear power plants. The data used in this study are based on the operating experience failure reports from calendar year 1998 through 2024 as reported in the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO) Industry Reporting and Information System (IRIS). The MOV failure modes considered are fail to open or close (FTOC), fail to operate or control (FTOP), and spurious operation (SO). The component reliability estimates and the reliability data are trended for the most recent 10-year period while yearly estimates for reliability are provided for the entire study period. The following increasing trend was identified for MOVs for the most recent 10-year period: • Low-demand MOV frequency of FTOC demands (demands per reactor year). The following decreasing trends were identified for MOVs for the most recent 10-year period: • Low-demand MOV FTOC failure probability • High-demand MOV SO failure rate • Low-demand MOV frequency of FTOC events (failures per reactor year) • High-demand MOV frequency of SO events (failures per reactor year).

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Estimates of the wavenumber wavelet power spectrum of magnetic fluctuations during magnetic reconnection

Fluctuation analyses of experimental observations generally lack high temporal resolution and are in frequency-space f, contrary to theoretical efforts in wavenumber-space k. This is due to the inherent limits of the Fourier transform, though it is prominent due to the ease of diagnostic implementation. Advances in wavelet-based analysis have provided relief due to its temporal resolution, but in its common use, is still hard to compare to theoretical models. By using the two-point correlation technique in conjunction with large data sets, a wavelet power spectrum in wavenumber-space can be created. Dubbed the wavenumber wavelet power spectrum, this spectrum relates wavenumber to power in time. Further, this analysis technique more closely connects characterizations of experimentally observed fluctuations with other system parameters and theoretical predictions. In this article, we develop the wavenumber wavelet power spectrum using magnetic fluctuations caused by tearing instability driven magnetic reconnection in reproducible, high temperature laboratory plasmas. These dynamic magnetic fluctuations generated in reversed field pinch plasmas are broadband, ranging from the low frequency, 10's of kHz, up to the ion gyroradii frequencies, 100's of kHz. The dominant fluctuations have poloidal and toroidal mode numbers (m,n)=(1,6−10) and can grow to 2%–3% of the mean magnetic field. During these reconnection events, ions, and electrons are energized, magnetic fluctuation amplitudes increase, plasma flow is halted, and the toroidal magnetic flux increases, all on a semi-periodic basis. The newly developed spectrum provides better temporal resolution of spectrum characteristics to correlate with these particle energization phenomena.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2026

Auxiliary heating and current drive physics for the ST-E1 fusion power plant

This work describes the physics basis for the proposed auxiliary heating and current drive system on the ST-E1 fusion power plant. The ST-E1 flattop plasma considered here is fully non-inductive with a bootstrap fraction of 0.9 and the remaining current driven by EC waves. Using the recently published physics-based optimization method for EC launchers (Lopez et al 2025 Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion 67 055012), we show that the target flattop ECCD can be achieved with a net efficiency of 52 kA MW −1 using fundamental O-mode (O1) with frequency range 160–200 GHz launched from the low-field side top half of the vacuum vessel (LFS top-launch). From considering two candidate rampup scenarios, we conclude that LFS top-launch O1 ECCD can be equally effective during the early stages of plasma operation, although poloidal steering might be needed. X-mode waves injected from the LFS midplane are also shown to be effective for rampup even when T e < 1 keV. We also present modeling results for the pre-conceptual design of an ICRH system proposed for ST-E1. Using TORIC, we find that an ICRH system aiming for 42–48 MHz and toroidal mode number n φ ~ 10 robustly achieves dominant ion damping via Helium-3 minority heating transitioning to second-harmonic Tritium heating. We then show that such waves can be efficiently generated by a 5-strap traveling-wave antenna (TWA) using the Petra-M code. The TWA has a 40–45 MHz passband within which ~60% of the power entering the TWA is coupled to the plasma with the remaining ~40% of the power being transmitted through the TWA and possibly recirculated; the power reflected back into the transmission lines is negligible. This passband structure persists even when the evanescent distance is increased by a factor of two, or when the magnetic-field angle is increased by 30°, demonstrating inherent load resilience that will be crucial for effective ICRH on ST-E1.

electron cyclotron↗
DOE OSTI2023

Integrated photonic molecule Brillouin laser with a high-power sub-100-mHz fundamental linewidth

Photonic integrated lasers with an ultra-low fundamental linewidth and a high output power are important for precision atomic and quantum applications, high-capacity communications, and fiber sensing, yet wafer-scale solutions have remained elusive. Here we report an integrated stimulated Brillouin laser (SBL), based on a photonic molecule coupled resonator design, that achieves a sub-100-mHz fundamental linewidth with greater than 10-mW output power in the C band, fabricated on a 200-mm silicon nitride (Si 3 N 4 ) CMOS-foundry compatible wafer-scale platform. The photonic molecule design is used to suppress the second-order Stokes (S2) emission, allowing the primary lasing mode to increase with the pump power without phase noise feedback from higher Stokes orders. The nested waveguide resonators have a 184 million intrinsic and 92 million loaded Q, over an order of magnitude improvement over prior photonic molecules, enabling precision resonance splitting of 198 MHz at the S2 frequency. We demonstrate S2-suppressed single-mode SBL with a minimum fundamental linewidth of 71±18 mHz, corresponding to a 23±6-mHz 2 /Hz white-frequency-noise floor, over an order of magnitude lower than prior integrated SBLs, with an ∼11-mW output power and 2.3-mW threshold power. The frequency noise reaches the resonator-intrinsic thermo-refractive noise from 2-kHz to 1-MHz offset. The laser phase noise reaches −155 dBc/Hz at 10-MHz offset. The performance of this chip-scale SBL shows promise not only to improve the reliability and reduce size and cost but also to enable new precision experiments that require the high-speed manipulation, control, and interrogation of atoms and qubits. Realization in the silicon nitride ultra-low loss platform is adaptable to a wide range of wavelengths from the visible to infrared and enables integration with other components for systems-on-chip solutions for a wide range of precision scientific and engineering applications including quantum sensing, gravitometers, atom interferometers, precision metrology, optical atomic clocks, and ultra-low noise microwave generation.

Liu, Kaikai (ORCID:0000000213609646)↗
DOE OSTI2022

Effects of neoclassical tearing modes and toroidal field ripple on lost alpha power in the SPARC tokamak

Here, using the SPIRAL Monte Carlo, full particle-orbit simulation code, we investigate the effects of neoclassical tearing modes (NTMs) and toroidal field (TF) ripple on alpha power losses during steady-state operation of the SPARC primary reference discharge. Model perturbations for TF ripple and the $m/n = 2/1$ and $3/2$ NTMs with exaggerated widths selected based on an H-mode plasma approaching thermal quench are added to a simulated SPARC magnetic equilibrium through which marker particles are tracked. The 3/2 and 2/1 NTMs are located at $\rho_{\mathrm{pol}} \sim 0.76$ and $\rho_\mathrm{pol} \sim 0.86$ respectively, well positioned to increase alpha particle transport into and within an outer lossy region of the plasma beyond $\rho_\mathrm{pol} \sim 0.8$ where over 95% of lost alpha particles are born. Total alpha power losses are shown to increase modestly from 1.73% lost at a minimum to 2.34% lost at a maximum, and alpha particle surface power densities form localized hotspots on the first-wall near the low-field side midplane due to NTMs and TF ripple. We establish a conservative upper limit for first-wall alpha surface power densities on a toroidally symmetric wall for typical, flattop operation and motivate the consideration of NTMs in the design of three dimensional limiter surfaces for SPARC.

alpha power losses↗
DOE OSTI2022

Role of p-GaN layer thickness in the degradation of InGaN-GaN MQW solar cells under 405 nm laser excitation

GaN-based solar cells with InGaN multiple quantum wells (MQWs) are promising devices for application in space environment, concentrator solar systems, wireless power transmission and multi-junction solar cells. It is therefore important to understand their degradation kinetics when submitted to high-temperature and high-intensity stress. We submitted three samples of GaN-InGaN MQW solar cells with p-AlGaN electron-blocking-layer with different thickness of the p-GaN layer to constant power stress at 310 W/cm 2 , 175 °C for several hundred hours. The main degradation modes are a reduction of open-circuit voltage, short-circuit current, external quantum efficiency, power conversion efficiency and electroluminescence. In particular, we observed that a thinner p-GaN layer results in a stronger degradation observed on the cell operating parameters. The analysis of the dark I-V characteristics showed an increase in low-forward bias current and the analysis of electroluminescence showed a decrease in the electroluminescene emitted by the (forward biased) cell, as a consequence of stress. This work highlights that the cause of degradation is possibly related to a diffusion mechanism, which results in an increase of defect density in the active region. Finally, the impurities involved in the diffusion processes possibly originate from the p-side of the devices, therefore a thicker p-GaN layer reduces the amount of defects reaching the active region.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2020

Thermoelectric response and entropy of fractional quantum Hall systems

In this work, we study the thermoelectric transport properties of fractional quantum Hall systems based on an exact diagonalization calculation. Based on the relation between the thermoelectric response and thermal entropy, we demonstrate that thermoelectric Hall conductivity $α_{xy}$ has power-law scaling $α_{xy} ∝ T^η$ for gapless composite Fermi-liquid states at filling numbers $\textit{ν}$ = 1/2 and 1/4 at low temperatures ($\textit{T}$), with an exponent η ~ 0.5 distinctly different from Fermi liquids. The power-law scaling remains unchanged for different forms of interaction including Coulomb and short-range ones, demonstrating the robustness of non-Fermi-liquid behavior of these interacting systems at low $\textit{T}$. In contrast, for the 1/3 fractional quantum Hall state, $α_xy$ vanishes at low $\textit{T}$ with an activation gap associated with neutral collective modes rather than charged quasiparticles. Our results establish another manifestation of the non-Fermi-liquid nature of quantum Hall fluids at a finite temperature.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2025

Resonant shattering flares as asteroseismic tests of chiral effective field theory

Chiral effective field theory (𝜒⁢EFT) has proved to be a powerful microscopic framework for predicting the properties of neutron-rich nuclear matter with quantified theoretical uncertainties up to about twice the nuclear saturation density. Tests of 𝜒⁢EFT predictions are typically performed at low densities using nuclear experiments, with neutron star (NS) constraints only being considered at high densities. In this work, we discuss how asteroseismic quasinormal modes within NSs could be used to constrain specific matter properties at particular densities not just the integrated quantities to which bulk NS observables are sensitive. We focus on the crust-core interface mode, showing that measuring this mode's frequency would provide a meaningful test of 𝜒⁢EFT at densities around half the saturation density. Conversely, we use nuclear matter properties predicted by 𝜒⁢EFT to estimate that this mode's frequency is around 185 ± 50Hz. Asteroseismic observables such as resonant phase shifts in gravitational-wave signals and multimessenger resonant shattering flare timings, therefore, have the potential to provide useful tests of 𝜒⁢EFT.

effective field theory↗
DOE OSTI2021

Numerical Analysis of Radiation Effects on Fiber Optic Sensors

Optical fiber sensors (OFS) are a potential candidate for monitoring physical parameters in nuclear environments. However, under an irradiation field the optical response of the OFS is modified via three primary mechanisms: (i) radiation-induced attenuation (RIA), (ii) radiation-induced emission (RIE), and (iii) radiation-induced compaction (RIC). For resonance-based sensors, RIC plays a significant role in modifying their performance characteristics. In this paper, we numerically investigate independently the effects of RIC and RIA on three types of OFS widely considered for radiation environments: fiber Bragg grating (FBG), long-period grating (LPG), and Fabry-Perot (F-P) sensors. In our RIC modeling, experimentally calculated refractive index (RI) changes due to low-dose radiation are extrapolated using a power law to calculate density changes at high doses. The changes in RI and length are subsequently calculated using the Lorentz–Lorenz relation and an established empirical equation, respectively. The effects of both the change in the RI and length contraction on OFS are modeled for both low and high doses using FIMMWAVE, a commercially available vectorial mode solver. An in-depth understanding of how radiation affects OFS may reveal various potential OFS applications in several types of radiation environments, such as nuclear reactors or in space.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2021

Observation of fully detached divertor integrated with improved core confinement for tokamak fusion plasmas

Integration of divertor detachment with a high-performance (β N ~ 3, β p > 2, H 98 ~ 1.5) core plasma has been demonstrated in DIII-D high-β p (poloidal beta) plasmas associated with a sustained core internal transport barrier (ITB) and an H-mode edge transport barrier (ETB). Such good core-edge integration has been achieved for both neon and nitrogen seeding, for both favorable and unfavorable B-field directions, independently from the impurity puffing locations, though these variations play important roles on divertor characteristics. Compared to the standard H-mode plasmas, the high-β p plasma exhibits a much wider window of detachment compatible with high confinement core. Fully detached divertor plasmas with low plasma temperature (Te < 5 eV), low particle flux, and low heat flux across the entire divertor target plate were obtained by using nitrogen seeding. This detached high-β p plasma is compatible with a newly developed detachment control system which can help optimize the nitrogen gas flow rate. Several features, i.e., the high edge safety factor in the high-β p scenario, impurity injection, closed divertor and reduced heating power requirement due to the high confinement, facilitate the achievement of full divertor detachment at lower density. Instead of degrading global performance, the divertor detachment facilitates the access to an even stronger ITB at large radius with a relatively weak ETB through self-organized synergy between ITB and ETB, leading to sustained high confinement. The strengthening of the large-radius ITB compensates for the ETB degradation associated with divertor detachment. In addition, a weak ETB naturally has smaller edge localized modes (ELMs). In particular, with neon injection, a long-period no-ELM H-mode phase has been achieved simultaneously with high-performance core and partially detached divertor plasmas. Furthermore, these results demonstrate the possibility of integrating excellent core plasma performance with an effective divertor solution, an essential step toward steady-state operation of reactor-grade plasmas.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

A New Plasma Radar Concept for Simultaneous Magnetic and Density Measurements

An innovative, compact 288GHz interferometer has been fabricated, tested, installed and successfully demonstrated on the LAPD-U magnetized plasma at UCLA. The system takes advantage of frequency modulated (FM) radar techniques to deliver a compact heterodyne system. In addition, the reflected power from the source is taken advantage of to eliminate the need for additional quasi-optical components. Electron density in LAPD-U plasma has recently been increased substantially thereby requiring a higher frequency/shorter wavelength interferometer to avoid deleterious refractive effects. This system satisfies those needs. The system uses a 96GHz varactor tuned Gunn oscillator which passes to a passive tripler. This tripler has ~3% conversion efficiency. The 288GHz radiation is then coupled to free space using a so-called dual-mode or Pickett horn. The output 288GHz beam is then coupled to an aspheric lens manufactured from low-loss, high-density polyethylene. This lens is employed to collimate the emerging beam. Small axial adjustment of the lens position can also be used to create a slowly focusing beam so as to optimize the measured signal. In addition, up-down or side-to-side adjustment of the lens can be utilized to steer the beam vertically or horizontally – again to optimize alignment. The propagating beam passes through a beam splitter and then through a water-free, bubble-free fused quartz window into the LAPD-U vacuum vessel. The beam-splitter is a thin sheet of G10 which reflects a small fraction of the incident power (~5 %) towards a zero-bias detector optimized for the frequency range from 220 to 300GHz. Note that waveguides at this frequency have dimensions of ~0.9mm x 0.45mm and so have very large conductive losses. This drives the use of quasi-optical propagation. The detector requires no DC bias and is very responsive (> 1V/mW into 1MΩ). Radiation is coupled to the detector via a similar lens-horn arrangement used for the launch. This reflected beam acts as the local oscillator or reference millimeter-wave beam for the detector. The remainder of the launched source beam then enters the LAPD-U vacuum vessel and passes through the plasma at the mid-plane until reaching the opposing port which is closed off with an aluminum flange. This flange is used as a mirror to retroreflect the incident 288GHz beam back along its path. The retroreflected beam exits the input port but does NOT couple directly into the zero-bias detector. Instead, the majority of the return power continues towards the 288GHz source. As mentioned above the transmitted beam enters the source a second time. This would appear undesirable. However, at these frequencies multipliers are highly non-linear elements which results in a significant portion of the return beam (~20%) re-emerging from the multiplier and horn and then coupling via the G10 beam-splitter to the zero-bias detector. This approach eliminated the need for a second quasi-optical beam-splitter. The system is extremely compact measuring approximately 28 inches x 20 inches. The above did not explain how heterodyne operation was achieved. As mentioned above the Gunn oscillator is able to be varactor tuned. This allows a low voltage to be applied to control the operating frequency of the Gunn oscillator. During heterodyne operation a sawtooth shaped voltage is applied to the varactor at 750kHz using an 80MHz Arbitrary Waveform Generator (AWG). This voltage changes the Gunn frequency linearly during the up-sweep which is then reset abruptly at the sawtooth crash to be immediately followed by another linear sweep. Passage through the 288GHz multiplier triples the frequency change experienced by the electromagnetic wave. These frequency changes are small – tens of megahertz. This FM radar approach results in the launched electromagnetic wave frequencies at the detector for the reference and plasma wave to be different. The approximately 10 ns delay propagation delay for the plasma beam results in the local oscillator and plasma beams NOT having an identical frequency – there is in fact a fixed difference frequency. The frequency tuning level of the Gunn oscillator is then adjusted so that there is ONE cycle of this difference frequency during each linear ramp. During the sawtooth crash or downward re-sweep this one cycle replays in reverse but on a very fast timescale. The process then repeats. Low-pass filtering eliminates the fast re-sweep to leave a pure sine wave heterodyne signal. When the plasma is present it introduces a phase delay in the sine wave (caused by the extremely small Doppler shift resulting from the optical path length change). Of course, to measure this phase change we need a reference. This is simply obtained from an arbitrary waveform generator which provides a synchronized output pulse train which again is low pass filtered to obtain a 750kHz sinusoidal voltage reference for the interferometer. The interferometer was installed on LAPD-U where it has worked reliably and has established that electron densities exceeding 1x10 13 cm -3 are routinely achieved. In addition, the system sensitivity was able to easily observe density fluctuation at frequencies up to 50kHz. FM Radar techniques have enabled a full demonstration of a compact, sensitive, high frequency (288GHz/1mm) heterodyne interferometer.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗