MICROWAVE HOLOGRAPHIC ELEMENTS APPLIED TO RF HEATING

WHILE THE PI WAS ON LEAVE AT LAWRENCE LIVERMORE, A NEW CLASS OF MICROWAVE ELEMENTS WAS DEVELOPED, FABRICATED, AND TESTED. THE DESIGN OF THESE ELEMENTS COMBINES THE PRINCIPLES OF MICROWAVE TWIST REFLECTORS WITH THOSE OF DIGITAL HOLOGRAPHY. THE RESULT IS A SINGLE REFLECTOR WHICH, IN AN INDEPENDENT FASHION, CONTROLS BOTH THE PHASE AND POLARIZATION OF AN INCIDENT WAVEFRONT IN A NEARLY ARBITRARY FASHION. TWO SUCH ELEMENTS ARE CURRENTLY BEING INSTALLED IN TMX-U AT LAWRENCE LIVERMORE AND THEY REPRESENT A FOURFOLD IMPROVEMENT IN EFFICIENCY OVER THE PREVIOUS WAVEGUIDE SYSTEM. HOWEVER, THE COMPONENTS DESIGNED FOR TMX DID NOT FUNCTION EXACTLY AS PREDICTED AND WE WERE ABLE TO IDENTIFY DEFICIENCIES IN THE THEORY OF OPERATION FOR THESE COMPONENTS. THESE DEFICIENCIES NEED TO BE REMOVED IF THE CONCEPT IS TO BE GENERALIZED TO THE MORE COMPLEX DESIGNS REQUIRED FOR OTHER FUSION SYSTEMS. AT PRESENT, A NUMBER OF IMPORTANT QUESTIONS REMAIN CONCERNING THE THEORY, DESIGN, FABRICATION, AND APPLICATION OF THESE ELEMENTS. THE GOAL OF THE PHASE I EFFORT IS TO COMPLETE THE ANALYTICAL DESCRIPTION FOR THE OPERATION OF THESE NOVEL REFLECTOR COMPONENTS AND TO BEGIN DEVELOPMENT OF THE COMPUTER SOFTWARE REQUIRED FOR GENERAL DESIGNS. IN THE PHASE II EFFORT IT IS OUR GOAL TO DEVELOP THE INDUSTRIAL BASE REQUIRED FOR THE DESIGN AND MANUFACTURE OF THE NEW COMPONENTS.