Edge-localized mode control by electron cyclotron waves in a tokamak plasma

Electron cyclotron resonance heating is applied to the edge of a high-confinement (H-mode) plasma featuring type I edge-localized modes (ELMs) in the TCV tokamak. As the deposition location is shifted gradually in a highly controlled manner towards the plasma pressure pedestal, an increase in the ELM frequency by a factor 2 and a decrease in the energy loss per ELM by the same factor are observed, even though the power absorption efficiency is reduced. This unexpected and, as yet, unexplained phenomenon, observed for the first time, runs contrary to the intrinsic type I ELM power dependence and provides a new approach for ELM mitigation.