ICRF heating in Alcator C-Mod: Present status and future prospects

Alcator C-Mod, the high field, high density, diverted, compact tokamak in the world’s portfolio of high performance plasma fusion devices, is heated exclusively with ICRF auxiliary power. In this paper an overview of recent results is summarized, with particular attention given to the importance of RF operation and the flexibility afforded by different heating scenarios. Besides the routine minority heating operation, results in the mode conversion heating regime are also presented (mainly direct electron heating through mode converted ion Bernstein waves). Recent attempts at improving plasma performance by establishing internal transport barriers (ITBs) by various transient profile control techniques (the so-called Advanced Tokamak mode of operation) are also presented. Future improvements in performance afforded by the recent addition of a new 4-strap antenna and 4 MW of tunable (40–80 MHz) ICRF power are also discussed. Mode-conversion current drive (MCCD) and fast wave current drive (FWCD) will be among the many new options that will be tested with the goal of improving plasma performance.