Status of ITER RF systems design

ITER will require ∼100 MW of auxiliary power for plasma heating, current drive and plasma kinetic control functions. As in most of the present-day tokamaks, these functions will be shared among different heating methods. A (negative-ion) neutral beam injection (NBI) and three RF heating and current drive (H&CD) systems - ion cyclotron (ICRF), electron cyclotron (ECRF) and lower hybrid (LBW) - are under conceptual development, the latter being developed by the European Home Team. The three RF H&CD Systems, described in this paper, offer together a range of features and services capable of satisfying all ITER requirements. A standardized design approach is adopted for the systems: all launchers are integrated in ITER equatorial ports, feature an all-metal construction, have a very limited impact on the torus layout, and do not significantly modify vacuum and tritium boundaries. They are removable through the port with similar manual and remote handling operations. A discussion of the RF systems design and of the associated R&D programmes is presented.