Multimode observations and 3D magnetic control of the boundary of a tokamak plasma

We present high-resolution detection and control of the 3D magnetic boundary in the High Beta Tokamak-Extended Pulse (HBT-EP) device. Measurements of non-axisymmetric radial and poloidal fields are made using 216 magnetic sensors positioned near the plasma surface. Control of 3D fields is accomplished using 40 independent saddle coils attached to the passive stabilizing wall. The control coils are energized with high-power solid-state amplifiers, and massively parallel, high-throughput feedback control experiments are performed using low-latency connections between PCI Express analogue input and output modules and a graphics processing unit. The time evolution of unstable and saturated wall-stabilized external kink modes are studied with and without applying magnetic perturbations using the control coils. The 3D dynamic structure of the magnetic field surrounding the plasma is determined through biorthogonal decomposition using the full set of magnetic sensors without the need to fit either a Fourier or a model-based basis. Naturally occurring external kinks are composed of multiple independent helical modes. Smooth transitions between dominant poloidal mode numbers are observed for simultaneous n = 1 and n = 2 modes as the edge safety factor changes. Relative amplitudes of coexistent m/n = 3/1 and 6/2 modes depend on the plasma's major radius and edge safety factor. When stationary 3/1 magnetic perturbations are applied, the resonant response can be linear, saturated, or disruptive, depending upon the perturbation amplitude and the edge safety factor; increased plasma–wall interactions from the perturbed plasma are proposed as a saturation mechanism. Initial feedback experiments have used 40 sensors and 40 control coils, producing mode amplification or suppression, and acceleration or deceleration depending on the feedback phase angle.