Characterization of the frequency ranges of the plasma edge fluctuation spectra

Frequency spectra of fluctuations for the ion saturation current, floating potential, and turbulent transport measured in the plasma edge of plasma co nfinement experiments (tokamaks and stellarators) have been analyzed to ide ntify the frequency ranges characterized by a power dependence. Three main regions can be identified. For the intermediate frequency region, the decay of the spectra is close to 1/f, as is expected in self-organized criticali ty systems. This region is particularly important for the role that it play s in plasma transport and the self-similarity of the fluctuations and fluxe s. The effect of plasma rotation on the decay indices has also been studied . (C) 1999 American Institute of Physics. [S1070-664X(99)00212-8].