The threshold power for the transition into H-mode with hydrogen (H), deuterium (D), and helium (He) as majority ion species has been evaluated from a series of dedicated experiments on the tokamak TCV. Identical plasma configurations with a single-null X-point and favorable direction of the ion del B drift have been chosen. The input power was varied via the plasma current and L-H transitions were obtained with Ohmic heating alone. Under these conditions and for electron densities in the range of 6-7.10(19) m(-3) the threshold power compared to D increased by 1.75 for H and 1.45 for He, respectively. For D and He, the measured power levels are in good agreement with the predictions of the commonly used scaling law. In the case of H, transitions into H-mode were observed already at power levels of about 80% of the expected threshold power. Our results have also been analyzed on the basis of a physics-based scaling, which includes more parameters and applies to all ion species. Using the case of D as reference, we find that the increase in threshold power for He follows the predictions. For H there is a noticeable disagreement which may partly be explained by uncertainties in the relevant plasma parameters. The new scaling implies a strong dependence on the values of the electron temperature at the separatrix. For the present study, only data up to a normalized radius of 0.95 were available. More precise measurements of the edge temperature profiles may help to resolve the issue.
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