Real-time fast ferrite ICRF tuning system on the Alcator C-Mod tokamak

A real-time ion cyclotron range of frequencies (ICRF) antenna matching system has been successfully implemented on Alcator C-Mod. This is a triple-stub tuning system working at 80 MHz, where one stub acts as a pre-matching stub and the other two stubs use fast ferrite tuners (FFTs) to accomplish fast tuning. It utilizes a digital controller for feedback control (200 μs per iteration) using real-time antenna loading measurements as inputs and the coil currents to the FFT as outputs. The system has achieved and maintained matching for a large range of plasma parameters, including L-mode, H-mode, and plasmas with edge localized modes. It has succeeded in delivering up to 1.85 MW net rf power into H-mode plasmas at maximum voltage of 37 kV on the unmatched side of the matching system.