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Plasma detachment control on the TCV tokamak in Lausanne, Switzerland

Plasma detachment in divertor tokamaks is essential for future large fusion devices like ITER or DEMO. Detachment is however not always stable and therefore needs to be actively stabilized. During the course of my stay in Lausanne, I studied the possible actuators and sensors which could be used in a detachment control system on the TCV tokamak. This would aid to study H-mode detached plasmas on TCV but would also be a proof of principle for the implementation of such control system on large fusion devices. As a result of this study, I came up with recommendations for both actuators and sensors.

Next to this interesting and significant contribution to plasma detachment research, I also found a great and very welcoming team at the Swiss Plasma Center (SPC) in Lausanne. The openness to questions and informal discussions is an enormous advantage for people coming into the field of nuclear fusion and plasma physics. Although it remains a challenge, the fact that there are so many people to help you with your problems makes research at the SPC a real pleasure. I would advise anyone to try this amazing opportunity.

I would like to thank the people at SPC for their help in this project. Next to that, I would also definitely like to thank my supervisors from the KU Leuven for their contributions. Lastly, I thank FuseNet for their financial support, without it I would not have been able to perform this research.

- Andreas Smolders