The net erosion and deposition pattern of carbon from the Test Divertor Unit (TDU) of the stellarator W7-X was determined. Special target elements with marker layers consisting of about 300 nm molybdenum and 5-10 µm carbon on top were used during the operation phase OP 1.2a. The thicknesses of the marker layers were determined by elastic backscattering spectrometry (EBS) using 2.5 MeV protons before and after plasma exposure and laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) on selected target elements after exposure. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used for investigating the surface morphology before and after exposure. Massive erosion of up to 20 µm carbon was observed at the strike line, in total 48±14 g carbon were eroded from the 10 TDUs. The erosion was laterally nonuniform on the micro-scale. Strongly eroded surfaces were considerably smoother as compared to the original material. Only very little deposition of carbon is observed on the TDU: This means that the TDU is a large net erosion source.
SG-III laser facility is now the largest laser driver for inertial confinement fusion research in China. The whole laser facility can deliver 180 kJ energy and 60 TW power ultraviolet laser onto target, with power balance better than 10%. We review the laser system and introduce the SG-III laser performance here.
A set of dedicated marker samples consisting of fine-grain graphite as substrate, an interlayer of 0.2–0.4 μm molybdenum (Mo) employed as marker, and a 5–10 μm thick carbon (C) marker layer on top were installed in Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) to investigate locally the C erosion and deposition. In this study, a set of five individual marker tiles, installed in a vertical divertor element of the test divertor unit in half-module 50, and exposed to about 40 min of plasma predominant in the standard magnetic divertor configuration in the first year of divertor operation in W7-X (OP1.2A), were retrieved from the vessel for post-mortem analysis. Picosecond laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (ps-LIBS) was applied on these marker tiles in order to determine the local erosion/deposition pattern caused by plasma impact. The general erosion/deposition pattern on the vertical target element was studied with the aid of depth-profiling by Mo line emission due to ps-LIBS with the number of applied laser pulses (355 nm, 2.3 J cm−2, 35 ps) at one probing location. Several potential asymmetry factors which avoid a perfect layer-by-layer ablation process in the laser ablations are proposed and discussed when a rough layered structure sample with a rough surface is analysed by the ps-LIBS technique. Thereby, a simulation model was developed to correct the measurement error of the ps-LIBS method caused by the non-perfect rectangle profile of the applied laser beam. The depth resolution of the applied ps-LIBS system was determined by quantification of the laser ablation rates of the different layers and the C substrate which were measured utilising profilometry and cross comparison with the thicknesses of the C and Mo marker layers determined by a combined focused ion beam and scanning electron microscopy technique. For the first time, the erosion/deposition pattern on the vertical target was mapped and quantified by ps-LIBS technique. A relatively wide net erosion zone with a poloidal extend of about 200 mm was identified which can be correlated to the main particle interaction zone at the magnetic strike-line of the dominantly applied standard magnetic divertor configuration. At the position of peak erosion, not only 7.6 × 1019 C atoms/cm2 but also 2 × 1018 Mo atoms/cm2 which results can be extrapolated to total 15 × 1019 C atoms/cm2, were eroded due to plasma fuel particle (H, He) and impurity (O, C) ion impact.
W7-X completed its plasma operation in hydrogen with island divertor and inertially cooled test divertor unit (TDU) made of graphite. A substantial set of plasma-facing components (PFCs), including in particular marker target elements, were extracted from the W7-X vessel and analysed post-mortem. The analysis provided key information about underlying plasma–surface interactions (PSI) processes, namely erosion, transport, and deposition as well as fuel retention in the graphite components. The net carbon (C) erosion and deposition distribution on the horizontal target (HT) and vertical target (VT) plates were quantified and related to the plasma time in standard divertor configuration with edge transform ι = 5/5, the dominant magnetic configuration of the two operational phases (OP) with TDU. The operation resulted in integrated high net C erosion rate of 2.8 mg s−1 in OP1.2B over 4809 plasma seconds. Boronisations reduced the net erosion on the HT by about a factor 5.4 with respect to OP1.2A owing to the suppression of oxygen (O). In the case of the VT, high peak net C erosion of 11 μm at the strike line was measured during OP1.2B which converts to 2.5 nm s−1 or 1.4 mg s−1 when related to the exposed area of the target plate and the operational time in standard divertor configuration. PSI modelling with ERO2.0 and WallDYN-3D is applied in an interpretative manner and reproduces the net C erosion and deposition pattern at the target plates determined by different post-mortem analysis techniques. This includes also the 13C tracer deposition from the last experiment of OP1.2B with local 13CH4 injection through a magnetic island in one half module. The experimental findings are used to predict the C erosion, transport, and deposition in the next campaigns aiming in long-pulse operation up to 1800 s and utilising the actively cooled carbon-fibre composite (CFC) divertor currently being installed. The CFC divertor has the same geometrical design as the TDU and extrapolation depends mainly on the applied plasma boundary. Extrapolation from campaign averaged information obtained in OP1.2B reveals a net erosion of 7.6 g per 1800 s for a typical W7-X attached divertor plasma in hydrogen.
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