Experimental physicist
Nuclear Fusion, Tokamaks
Microwave, millimeter waves and THz Plasma Diagnostics.
RF Plasma Heating.
ENEA - Centro Ricerche Frascati
Frascati (Italy). Research Executive
Oxford Department of Physics
Academic Visitor
"Imagine a miniature sun, trapped inside a machine. The gas inside reaches temperatures a hundred times hotter than the solar core. Understanding what happens there — measuring it, controlling it — is my work.
I am Marco Zerbini, experimental physicist at ENEA Frascati (Italy). For over thirty years I have been developing diagnostic instruments for fusion plasma: devices that use electromagnetic waves — from microwaves to TeraHertz — to measure plasma temperature and behaviour in tokamaks.
If you are curious about how nuclear fusion works, explore the sections in plain language. If you are an expert, you will find here the technical details of my projects and publications."
Current Projects
THZ-TDS Plasma Diagnostics → Measuring plasma parameters using terahertz light pulses
ECE Michelson FTS → A spectrometer that reads the microwave glow of hot plasma
Reflectometry → Probing plasma density with radar-like techniques
Electron Cyclotron Plasma Heating → Heating plasma with focused microwave beams
JET → Contributions to Europe's largest fusion experiment
DEMO → Research towards a future fusion power plant
Gallery → Images from thirty years of experimental physics
Education and Other Projects → Teaching, outreach, and work beyond the lab
Selected publications
Plasma diagnostic techniques based on terahertz radiation. Applied Physics Reviews, 12(3), 31314 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0256791
A thorough experimental assessment of THz‑TDS plasma diagnostic techniques for nuclear fusion applications, Rev. Sci. Instrum. 95, 103519 (2024); 10.1063/5.0237745
From FIR and millimeter waves to THz plasma diagnostics applications, in 2016 41st International Conference on Infrared, Millimeter, and Terahertz Waves (IRMMW-THz). Copenhagen (Denmark), Copenhagen: IEEE, 2016, pp. 1–2. doi: 10.1109/IRMMW-THz.2016.7758535.
Advanced views in far infrared spectroscopy applications for ECE measurements, in Proceedings of the 15th Joint Workshop on Electron Cyclotron Emission and Electron Cyclotron Resonance Heating, EC-15, edited by J. Lohr, (World Scientific, Yosemite, 2009), p. 245.
Fast ECE Diagnostics Applications For Real Time Control at JET, in 12th Joint Workshop on ECE and ECRH, ed. by G. Giruzzi, Aix-en-Provence (France), 2003, pp. 227–232. doi: 10.1142/9789812705082_0035.
Correlation analysis of 110 GHz ECH modulation experiments on DIII–D tokamak, Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion 41, 931 (1999).
Experimental results of amplitude modulation reflectometry on the FTU tokamak, Rev. of Sci. Instrum. 68(1), 428 (1997).
A Fourier Transform Spectrometer with Fast Scanning Capability for Tokamak Plasma Diagnostic, Rev.Sci.Instrum 66, 4208 (1995).
A broadband light collection system for ECE diagnostics on the FTU tokamak, Infrared Phys 34(5), 533–541 (1993).
Site last updated: 30/08/2026