HHFW Heating and Current Drive Progress on NSTX*

Operation of NSTX at B$_{T}$(0) = 0.55 T has increased the core power deposition and heating efficiency of the 30 MHz High Harmonic Fast Waves (HHFW) compared to previous B$_{T}$(0) $\le $ 0.45 T operation, particularly when launching longer parallel wavelengths. This improvement is attributed in part to moving the onset density at which the fast waves begin to propagate into the plasma to a point further from the wall [1]. At this field strength the HHFW power deposition at k$_{\vert \vert }$ = 7 m$^{-1}$ is comparable to that of k$_{\vert \vert }$ = 14 m$^{-1}$, and core heating at k$_{\vert \vert }$ = 3 m$^{-1}$ is now seen, albeit at lower efficiency. Comparisons with power deposition from full-wave models (AORSA) will be made and MSE measurements of driven current will be presented. \newline [1] see Invited Talk by J. Hosea, this conference.