Direct detection of lower hybrid wave using a reflectometer on Alcator C-Mod.

ABSTRACT

The possibility of directly detecting a density perturbation produced by lower hybrid (LH) waves using a reflectometer is presented. We investigate the microwave scattering of reflectometer probe beams by a model density fluctuation produced by short wavelength LH waves in an Alcator C-Mod experimental condition. In the O-mode case, the maximum response of phase measurement is found to occur when the density perturbation is approximately centimeters in front of the antenna, where Bragg scattering condition is satisfied. In the X-mode case, the phase measurement is predicted to be more sensitive to the density fluctuation close to the cut-off layer. A feasibility test was carried out using a 50 GHz O-mode reflectometer on the Alcator C-Mod tokamak, and positive results including the detection of 4.6 GHz pump wave and parametric decay instabilities were obtained.