Direct Coupling of Gyrotron RF Power into Waveguide Transmission Systems

70175 Currently, a complicated and expensive power conditioning system is required to couple output power from gyrotrons into waveguide transmission systems for fusion energy research. A significant amount of radio frequency power (50-200 kW) is lost as a result, reducing the power delivered to the intended load and complicating the mechanical and cooling design. In this project, the beam conditioning optics internal to the gyrotron will be redesigned to improve the mode purity and provide the conditions for direct injection into waveguide. A mode converter section will be integrated between the gyrotron and waveguide to increase the coupling efficiency. Phase I will evaluate and improve the gyrotron optics and connecting waveguide design and enable direct coupling with high efficiency. The first waveguide section, positioned coaxial with the Gaussian beam from the gyrotron, will be developed Commercial Application and Other Benefits as described by the awardee: The technology should increase the efficiency of the system, deliver more power to the tokamak plasma, make gyrotron systems more compact and reduce electron cyclotron heating system costs by approximately 10%.