Design Update on the MAST-Upgrade Microwave Heating and Current Drive System Launchers

MAST-Upgrade (MAST-U) is undergoing several enhancements to deliver increased performance and functionality. One such enhancement is the design, development, and implementation of an electron Bernstein wave (EBW) heating and current drive (HCD) system. The MAST-U EBW System aims to provide experimental data for model validation, along with a greater understanding of EBW physics and its capabilities. The MAST-U EBW System will deliver up to <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mathbf {1.8}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> MW of microwave power via two microwave beams, at the dual frequencies of 28 and 34.8 GHz for up to <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mathbf {4.5}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> s. This article provides an update on the system’s in-vessel components, with particular focus on the quasi-optical launcher design and modeled performance.