Lower-hybrid wave coupling and impurity generation in TORE SUPRA

High power coupling of lower hybrid (LH) waves is affected by the geometry of the coupling region and thermal and impurity effects. The authors have carried out LH coupling experiments on Tore Supra specifically to examine these issues. The paper is divided into 3 areas: effect of plasma shape; LH coupling driving combined LH-ICRF experiments; and effect of LH power on thermal load and impurity generation