This book describes two aspects of fusion plasma physics that are usually treated separately. It covers both the basic phenomena taking place in magnetically confined fusion plasmas in various reactors for controlled thermonuclear fusion (most notably tokamaks and stellarators), as well as the devices used as sources of strong microwaves for additional heating, control and diagnostics.
Written in tutorial form, the book consists of two main parts. The first part presents some of the essentials of magnetically confined plasma physics that are necessary for an in-depth understanding of the basic principles and underlying phenomena, in a consistent and comprehensive way. The second part is focused on existing powerful sources of high-frequency coherent radiation used for electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH), electron cyclotron resonance current drive (ECRCD), as well as for plasma ignition, control, and diagnostics in different fusion devices such as ITER and DEMO that are currently under development. The second part contains a fairly general treatment of external heating source technology within a unified point of view aimed at identifying common theoretical concepts.
