Efficient 3D/1D self-consistent integral-equation analysis of ICRH antennae

This work presents a comprehensive account of the theory and implementation of a method for the self-consistent numerical analysis of plasma-facing ion-cyclotron resonance heating (ICRH) antenna arrays. The method is based on the integral-equation formulation of the boundary-value problem, solved via a weighted-residual scheme. The antenna geometry (including Faraday shield bars and a recess box) is fairly general and three-dimensional (3D), and the plasma is in the one-dimensional (1D) 'slab' approximation; finite-Larmor radius effects, as well as plasma density and temperature gradients, are considered. Feeding via the voltages in the access coaxial lines is self-consistently accounted throughout and the impedance or scattering matrix of the antenna array obtained therefrom. The problem is formulated in both the dual space (physical) and spectral (wavenumber) domains, which allows the extraction and simple handling of the terms that slow the convergence in the spectral domain usually employed. This paper includes validation tests of the developed code against measured data, both in vacuo and in the presence of plasma. An example of application to a complex geometry is also given.