Scattering of Electron Cyclotron Resonance Heating Waves by Density Fluctuations in Tokamak Plasmas

Tokamak density fluctuation levels at which significant scattering of an electron cyclotron heating wave occurs are estimated. The analysis utilizes a wave kinetic equation to describe the scattering process in conjunction with a toroidal ray-tracing code. One result is that severe scattering occurs for a typical reactor plasma at a fluctuation level of one per cent.