Extended operation of the 1 MW, CW gyrotrons for W7-X

Electron Cyclotron Resonance Heating (ECRH) is the main heating method for the Wendelstein 7-X Stellarator (W7-X), which is under construction at IPP- Greifswald. A 10 MW ECRH plant with CW-capability at 140 GHz is under construction to meet the scientific objectives. The microwave power is generated by 10 gyrotrons with 1 MW each. Three gyrotrons are already operational at IPP in Greifswald. The W7-X gyrotrons are designed for single frequency operation at 140 GHz. The operation regime of the W7-X stellarator experiments is restricted to magnetic fields matched to the ECRH-frequency and it would be interesting to extend the operation regime to a second resonant magnetic field. Therefore gyrotron operation at a second frequency was investigated. The standard vertical collector sweep systems of gyrotrons inherently display a pronounced peaking of the collector heat loading. An improved collector sweep system was successfully tested on the TED gyrotrons, which creates an almost homogenous heat loading. This system is of particular interest for next generation gyrotrons with an output power up to 2 MW.