EFFECTS INDUCED BY ICRF WAVES ON VARIOUS CONFINEMENT SCHEMES IN TORE-SUPRA

The 1993-94 experimental campaign has seen a significant increase of the application of waves in the ion cyclotron range of frequency on Tore Supra. Ion cyclotron resonant heating has been applied to plasmas with strongly radiating layers, pellet-enhanced performance and lower hybrid enhanced performance. Initial experiments on direct coupling of the fast magnetosonic wave to the electrons have demonstrated coupling up to 5 MW to the plasma and have demonstrated an efficient electron heating in these discharges. A significant bootstrap current fraction is observed. This heating scheme leads to a stationary improvement in energy confinement, with implications for the Rebut-Lallia-Watkins local transport model. Finally, preliminary experiments on antenna phasing have shown clear evidence of fast wave current drive.