Vertical electron cyclotron emission diagnostic for TCV plasmas

Abstract

Electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH) and electron cyclotron current drive (ECCD) are used to heat the plasma, to tailor the current profiles and to achieve different operating regimes of tokamak plasmas. Plasmas with ECRH/ECCD are characterized by non-thermal electrons, which cannot be described by a Maxwellian distribution. Non-thermal electrons are also generated during MHD activity, like sawteeth crashes. Quantifying the non-thermal electron distribution is therefore a key for understanding EC heated fusion plasmas. For this purpose a vertical electron cyclotron emission (V-ECE) diagnostic is being installed at TCV. The diagnostic layout, the calibration, the analysis technique for data interpretation, the physics potentials and limitations are discussed. © Owned by the authors, published by EDP Sciences, 2012.