CEA’s WEST fusion facility runs its first ECRH gyrotron on plasma
IRFM reports one-second heating pulses at 800 kW with the first gyrotron; 3 MW remains a later target.
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The French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission’s Institute for Magnetic Fusion Research (IRFM) said on October 9 that the electron cyclotron resonance heating system at its WEST tokamak had operated on plasma with its first gyrotron. The institute described this as a step toward injecting 3 MW of microwave power at 105 GHz.
IRFM said the test campaign had reached pulses at 800 kW for one second. A second gyrotron has been installed but is still being qualified, so 3 MW is a planned target for the developing system, not its current output.
Data
System milestone
IRFM’s October 9 announcement said WEST’s ECRH system had run on plasma with its first gyrotron and reached one-second pulses at 800 kW.
- · Occurred
First-gyrotron operation reported in the October 9 announcement
The institute reported one-second pulses at 800 kW; the second gyrotron remains under qualification and the 3 MW target has not been reached.
Methodology
System operation described in the dated announcement
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