Investigation of phase modulation and propagation-route effect from unmatched large-scale structures for Doppler reflectometry measurement through 2D full-wave modeling

To interpret the common symmetric peaks caused by the large-scale structure in the complex S(f)spectrum from the heterodyne Doppler reflectometry(DR)measurement in EAST,a 2D circular-shaped O-mode full-wave model based on the finite-difference time-domain method is built.The scattering characteristics and the influences on the DR signal from various scales are investigated.When the structure is located around the cutoff layer,a moving radial or poloidal large-scale structure k_(θ)k_(θ),match(k_(θ),match is the theoretic wavenumber of Bragg scattering)could both generate an oscillation phase term called‘phase modulation’,and symmetrical peaks in the complex S(f)spectrum.It was found that the image-rejection ratio A_(−1)/A_(+1)(A_(±1)represents the amplitudes of±1 order modulation peaks)could be a feasible indicator for experiment comparison.In the case when the structure is near the cutoff layer with the same arrangement as the experiment for the edge DR channel,the curve of A_(−1)/A_(+1)versus kθcan be divided into three regions,weak asymmetrical range with k_(θ)/k_(0)0.15(k_(0)is the vacuum wavenumber),harmonics range with 0.15k_(θ)/k_(0)0.4,and Bragg scattering range of 0.4k_(θ)/k_(0)0.7.In the case when the structure is located away from the cutoff layer,the final complex S(f)spectrum is the simple superimposing of modulation and Bragg scattering,and the modulation peaks have an amplitude response nearly proportional to the local density fluctuation,called the‘propagationroute effect’.Under the H-mode experiment arrangement for the core DR,a critical fluctuation amplitude Amp(n_(e,Mod.@route))/Amp(n_(e,Tur.@MSA)∼1.3–4.1(Amp(n_(e,Mod.@route))refers to the pedestal large-scale structure amplitude and Amp(ne,Tur.@MSA)refers to turbulence amplitude at the main scattering area)is needed for the structure in the pedestal to be observed by the core DR measurement.The simulations are well consistent with the experimental results.These effects need to be carefully considered during the DR signal analyses as the injecting beam passes through the plasma region with large-scale structures.

Comparison of methods for turbulence Doppler frequency shift calculation in Doppler reflectometer

The Doppler reflectometer(DR),a powerful diagnostic for the plasma perpendicular velocity(u⊥)and turbulence measurement,has been widely used in various fusion devices.Many efforts have been put into extracting the Doppler shift from the DR signal.There are several commonly used methods for Doppler shift extraction,such as the phase derivative,the center of gravity,and symmetric fitting(SFIT).However,the strong zero-order reflection component around 0 kHz may interfere with the calculation of the Doppler shift.To avoid the influence of the zerofrequency peak,the asymmetric fitting(AFIT)method was designed to calculate the Doppler shift.Nevertheless,the AFIT method may lead to an unacceptable error when the Doppler shift is relatively small compared to the half width at half maximum(HWHM).Therefore,an improved method,which can remove the zero-frequency peak and fit the remaining Doppler peak with a Gaussian function,is devised to extract the Doppler shift.This method can still work reliably whether the HWHM is larger than the Doppler shift or not.

The investigation of quasi coherent mode on EAST using Doppler reflectometry

An electrostatic Quasi coherent mode has been observed in density fluctuations and perpendicular velocity fluctuations with the frequency range of 3–80 k Hz on the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak using multi-channel Doppler reflectometry.It appears in the edge localized mode(ELM)-free period after L-H transition or in the inter-ELM period.The mode rotates almost together with the plasma with the poloidal wave number around 0.6cm-1 and its frequency chirps with plasma poloidal velocity.The mode can exist in a large radial coverage(ρ=0.75–0.98),and peaks near the top of pedestal,suggesting that it might be excited in the steep gradient pedestal region,and spread into the core area.