Real-Time Detection for Magnetic Island of Neoclassical Tearing Mode in EAST Plasma Control System

Accurate detection of a magnetic island in real time is one of the important issues for the tearing mode (TM) and neoclassical tearing mode (NTM) control. This paper presents a real-time detection system for the magnetic island of NTM control in the EAST Plasma Control System (PCS). Diagnosis is based on magnetic periodic perturbation and electron temperature fluctuation caused by the magnetic island. Therefore, a Mirnov measurement has been selected to calculate the island’s parameters, such as island width, frequency of island rotation, and toroidal number. The electron cyclotron emission (ECE) system can detect the island position, which is calculated by two fast detection algorithms called correlation analysis and Hilbert transform. For future NTM control, real-time equilibrium reconstruction (rt-EFIT) is needed to locate the rational q-surface where the island is detected. This fast detection system is able to detect an island within 3 ms. It can be integrated into PCS to provide effective parameters of the island for NTM control by using EC resonance heating (ECRH) in the next experiment of EAST.