David C. Pace

Part of the benefit is that high frequency microwaves mostly move through the device unaffected by the plasma all the way until they reach the resonance position where their energy is absorbed. Lower frequency injected waves can be deflected by plasma and stray from the intended path.

Absolutely, standard issue personal protective equipment 😀

High power microwaves are amazing. In addition to bulk heating, they can also be used to stabilize undesirable plasma modes. Detailed info on that process is published here, doi.org/10.1088/0029...

The RF team at the DIII-D National Fusion Facility stands next to a just opened crate featuring a MW-class gyrotron manufactured by Kyoto Fusioneering. This gyrotron will be used for heating and current drive in fusion energy experiments.

At d3dfusion.org we inject microwaves (100 - 200 GHz) to heat and drive current in our fusion plasmas. We've just unboxed our newest 1 MW microwave unit, a gyrotron named Zapdos, and are excited to bring it online. This unit will extend our plasma parameter range deeper into reactor territory. 🧪

ELM-free enhanced Dα H-mode with near zero NBI torque injection in DIII-D tokamak Enhanced Dα H-mode (EDA H-mode), an ELM-free H-mode regime, and the concomitant quasi-coherent mode (QCM) are explored in neutral beam heated, lower single null

This work was featured in the 2024 Early Career Collection from Physics of Plasmas, pubs.aip.org/pop/collecti...

T. Macwan, et al., Physics of Plasmas 31, 122503 (2024), doi.org/10.1063/5.02...

T. Macwan and colleagues performed experiments at d3dfusion.org to determine the drivers for a plasma mode that regulates pressure in the far edge. When far edge pressure gets too high, fusion plasmas tend to expel large bursts of hot particles that will definitely cause wall damage in a reactor.

Schematic of an experiment in the DIII-D National Fusion Facility. The experiment made simultaneous measurements of many plasma characteristics in order to determine the driver of an edge mode dominant in the enhanced D-alpha H-mode scenario.

Best way to control a fusion plasma is likely combining external actuators & internal plasma behaviors. Fusion plasmas produce waves and modes that affect particle & energy transport across the device. The more the plasma self-regulates, the less effort (cost) needs to come from external control. 🧪

banner graphic announcing the 2026 call for proposals to participate in the next Research Campaign at the DIII-D National Fusion Facility. Information available at d3dfusion.org/rof

d3dfusion.org announces the call for experimental proposals for the next Research Campaign.

Whether you are working in plasma science, engineering, computing and data science, or anything else in fusion energy, we are here to help you discover & advance.

Learn more: d3dfusion.org/rof/ 🧪

That is a legitimate suspicion, but this is a real research tool. AI is trained on simulation codes that take days to run on supercomputers. The AI version completes in minutes. Users interactively change the device layout and rerun the simulations to test how a new configuration would behave.

You have a valid point considering consumer applications at large scale. In this case, the AI tool is being used for research with the cost factored in to the resource assessment and the limits of applicability factored in to the research plan.

YouTube video by NVIDIA World's First Interactive AI-Enabled Fusion Reactor Digital Twin

We were all very excited to see the digital twin of d3dfusion.org in Jensen Huang's keynote at NVIDIA GTC today!

The dream of running high-fidelity simulations of entire, hugely complex, experiments with fast turnaround is coming true. 🧪

Conceptual diagram of an experiment at the DIII-D National Fusion Facility. This experiment developed a linear quadratic integral controller to demonstrate feedback control on the electron temperature profile.

Researchers from d3dfusion.org demonstrate a new controller for the electron temperature profile. This controller integrates many measurements and actuators to achieve the targeted values across the plasma. 🧪⚛️

S. Morosohk, et al., Nuclear Fusion 65, 106031 (2025), iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1...

Key visual of the Fusion Academy with the date 22-27 March 2026 and the location Garching. Message: Paving the Way for Tomorrow's Fusion Experts

Are you studying a STEM subject in Germany and can you imagine working on the development of a fusion power plant in the future? Then apply here: info.bmftr-fusionsforschung.de/-lp/8PD60325...

The fusion energy development roadmap has just been released by the US Department of Energy. You'll see increasing strategic emphasis placed on public-private partnerships as a mechanism to accelerate commercialization.

www.energy.gov/sites/defaul...

Cover for the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation report, "Catalyzing California's Fusion Advantage: Roadmap to Commercialization."

The San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation has released a report, "Catalyzing California's Fusion Advantage: Roadmap to Commercialization," and it's a must read for those seeking to build a fusion energy economy in California.

See the full report at fusionca.org

You can learn more about how the negative triangularity scenario is being advanced at DIII-D here.
Campaign highlights overview, d3dfusion.org/fy2023campai...
Publications list, d3dfusion.org/negative-tri...

Conceptual diagram of a negative triangularity experiment conducted at the DIII-D National Fusion Facility.

We need a plasma scenario that produces tremendous energy output without melting the walls of the fusion reactor. Experiments at d3dfusion.org show promise for the negative triangularity scenario. Modeling identifies the adjustments that might make this a real solution. 🧪⚛️

doi.org/10.1088/1361...

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Reducing Plasma-facing Material Requirements and Advancing Core-edge Integration using a Closed Divertor with Mid-leg Pumping. After registering, you will r... This webinar is intended for the fusion energy research and industry community, and will be presented at the post-graduate level. The webinar is open to the public, subject to attendance limits. The ...

Public webinar on exhaust power handling in fusion energy devices. The Stage 2 Divertor project at d3dfusion.org seeks to build a unique wall configuration that will answer questions about how to optimize exhaust control in tokamaks.

Register through Zoom, fusion.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

⚛️🧪

Michel Laberge, Georgy Subbotin, Aleksei Zolotarev, Tom Gibbs, Sofiane Alla, Jin-Soo Kim, Amanda Niedfeldt, Steven McNamara, Richard A. Kraaijenhagen, Bibake Uppal, Tessa Van Volkenburg, Ria Meston, Daniel Velázquez, Angelica Ottaviano, David Gates, Allan Grosvenor, and Ayesha Dewan.

Additional gratitude is due to those who work hard behind the scenes, including our tireless colleagues Director Richard Buttery and Program Manager Matthew Lanctot and incredible support teams from General Atomics and the U.S. Department of Energy.

Thank you for your patience & support:

Thank you to all our industry participants; we appreciate the expertise you bring to the team and we are excited to see you deliver fusion energy!

See all the options for joining DIII-D here, d3dfusion.org/become-a-user/

With the bugs mostly worked out, we welcomed digiLab, Tokamak Energy, C42X Fusion Research, and Kyoto Fusioneering under a more efficient process. Some of our latest cohort completed the process in a single day, as Helion, Avalanche Energy, Thea Energy, and MSBAI (Techstars '20) joined the team.

We’ve gotten pretty good at making connections, hence the image selection below 😀

Thank you to our earliest partners in this approach, who were willing to help us work out the details. Our first cohort included General Fusion, Next Step Fusion, NVIDIA Omniverse, Oliphant Fusion, and FAR-TECH.

Sparks flew, and we have witnessed remarkable success in this endeavor. Thirteen different fusion energy companies have joined DIII-D through this mechanism. As the industry often says, “people are voting with their feet,” and they’re coming to DIII-D.

The plan was to engage the industry and maybe bring in a couple of organizations over the first year. Like any new relationship, DIII-D and the fusion industry needed to get to know each other before committing.

We knew that the talent of DIII-D’s nearly 1,000-strong research team and the capabilities of the facility would be of value to the #fusionenergy industry, but it was not clear how to overcome barriers specific to private enterprise.

This effort primarily targeted fusion energy startups which, as #deeptech organizations, are known to have many fundamental research and development challenges that must be overcome to commercialize their technologies.

Two years ago this month, the DIII-D National Fusion Facility opened up a new method by which any organization could join the Research Team. That effort has resulted in a very successful expansion of DIII-D engagement with industry for which I want to express some gratitude today.

ITER International School: scientific program announced Sign up before 1 April 2025 for this year's ITER International School on the topic of "Integrated Modelling in Magnetic Fusion Plasmas." The school will take place in Aix-en-Provence, France, from 30…

ITER International School: scientific program announced

Sign up before 1 April 2025 for this year's ITER International School on the topic of "Integrated Modelling in Magnetic Fusion Plasmas." The school will take place in Aix-en-Provence, France, from 30 June to 4 July 2025. 👇

🔗

Conceptual diagram of a plasma turbulence spreading experiment conducted on the DIII-D tokamak at the DIII-D National Fusion Facility.

Plasma science determines many characteristics of fusion energy reactors. Instabilities in the plasma edge correlate to the power exhaust reaching the walls. This exhaust can be expelled in highly concentrated regions, setting challenging requirements for materials.
doi.org/10.1088/1741...
🧪⚛️