Experimental studies of materials migration in magnetic confinement fusion devices Novel methods for measurement of macro particle migration, transport of atomic impurities and characterization of exposed surfaces

Sammanfattning: During several decades of research and development in the field of Magnetically Confined Fusion (MCF) the preferred selection of materials for Plasma Facing Components (PFC) has changed repeatedly. Without doubt, endurance of the first wall will decide research availability and lifespan of the first International Thermonuclear Research Reactor (ITER). Materials erosion, redeposition and mixing in the reactor are the critical processes responsible for modification of materials properties under plasma impact. This thesis presents several diagnostic techniques and their applications for studies of materials transport in fusion devices. The measurements were made at the EXTRAP T2R Reversed Field Pinch operated in Alfvén laboratory at KTH (Sweden), the TEXTOR tokamak, recently shut down at Forschungszentrum Jülich (Germany) and in the JET tokamak at CCFE (UK). The main outcomes of the work are:Development and application of a method for non-destructive capture and characterization of fast dust particles moving in the edge plasma of fusion devices, as well as particles generated upon laser-assisted cleaning of plasma exposed surfaces. Advancement of conventional broad beam and micro ion beam techniques to include measurement of tritium in the surfaces exposed in future D-T experiments. Adaption of the micro ion beam method for precision mapping of non uniform elements concentrations on irregular surfaces. Implementation of an isotopic marker to study the large scale materials migration in a tokamak and development of a method for fast non destructive sampling of the marker on surfaces of PFCs.