ICRF antenna coupling theory for a cylindrically stratified plasma

Antenna coupling to a cyclindrical plasma is examined for the ion cyclotron range of frequencies (ICRF). A variety of antenna configurations are modelled such as a partial-turn loop, Nagoya coils, an aperture antenna, and arrays of coils. A procedure that utilizes the induction theorem is presented which replaces a general coil configuration with an equivalent representation in terms of sinusoidal current sheets. This transformation reduces the three dimensional antenna boundary value problem to that of one dimension (r, the radial coordinate) with the spatial variation in the other directions represented by complex exponentials (exp((ino + ik z)). As z constructed, the transformation is directly applicable to axisymmetric geometries where the plasma parameters are only functions of radius. The radial variation of the plasma parameters such as the local density and temperature are approximated by a stratified model. As the number of strata are increased, the step-wise model is shown to converge to the continuous case. The plasma response is modelled by a local equivalent dielectric tensor. In the context of this model antenna-plasma coupling characteristics are compared for the various ICRF antennas.