The ion cyclotron heating (ICH) system for BPX

The ICH system is required to deliver at least 20 MW of RF power to the BPX (Burning Plasma Experiment) plasma for pulse lengths of up to 15 s over a range of plasma operating conditions (e.g., average plasma densities from 0.5 to 4.5×10²⁰ m^-3, toroidal fields from 5 to 8 T). The power must be delivered to the plasma over a range of frequencies corresponding to the different operating conditions. On the basis of calculations of the load resistance that the antennas will see because of the presence of the plasma, circuit analysis of the RF system indicates that the present ICH design should easily be able to deliver this amount of power to the plasma. Some research and development must be done to provide a reliable system in the BPX radiation environment