Fusion Plasma Heating & Current Drive

Fusion Energy

Nuclear Fusion is a clean, unlimited future energy resource. It is the origin of the energy of the Sun and the universe. Now we will construct an artificial sun on the Earth. 

Fusion Plasma

The Sun is sustained by hydrogen fusion. The temperature of the core of the Sun is over 15  million K  to make the fusion reaction. This extremely high-temperature gas is called plasma. To generate the fusion reaction, the nuclei have to be heated up to a temperature that overcomes the Coulomb barrier. 

Plasma Heating

How can we heat the plasma? Electromagnetic (EM) waves and high-energy particles are employed to heat the plasma. Ions and electrons in the plasma interact with EM waves or energetic particles and gain energy from them. FLASH conducts plasma heating research, mainly focusing on neutral beam injection (NBI) technology. 

Non-Inductive Current Drive in Fusion Plasma

The fusion plasma is confined by toroidal and poloidal magnetic fields. The toroidal field (TF) is provided by TF coils surrounding the surface of the torus. And the poloidal field is made by the toroidal electric current in the fusion plasma. Therefore, the higher plasma current can enhance the fusion plasma confinement. To achieve steady-state operation of the fusion reactor, a non-inductive current drive by using the NBI or other methods, instead of a conventional inductive current drive scheme that enforces a pulse mode operation, is essential.

We research to understand the mechanism of the plasma heating and current drive and improve the fusion plasma performance.