Progress of ITER equatorial electron cyclotron launcher design for physics optimization and toward final design

Takahashi, Koji; Kajiwara, Ken; Okazaki, Yukio*; Oda, Yasuhisa; Sakamoto, Keishi; Omori, Toshimichi*; Henderson, M.*

In order to optimize the physics performance of ITER, the millimeter (mm) wave design of the equatorial electron cyclotron launcher is modified so that one-third of the total mm-wave injection power can be flipped to drive plasma current in the counter direction. The design change to perform the poloidal beam tilting of 5 at top and bottom beam row is conducted so that more efficient central power deposition is achievable. The opening shape in the blanket shield module (BSM) structure is also optimized to minimize the degradation of the mm-wave transmission efficiency. The degradation is only 0.3%. The modularization design of the steering mirror components and the internal shield, the application of a rail structure to perform the alignment of the steering mirror installation and the space allocation behind the BSM structure are implemented to increase the reliability, the manufacturability and the maintenability of the launcher design.