Accelerator-based ion beam analysis of fusion reactor materials

First wall components in controlled fusion devices undergo severe modification by various physical and chemical processes arising from plasma–material interactions: material erosion, its migration in the plasma and re-deposition. Ion beam analysis techniques play a prominent role in the studies of wall components exposed to hot plasmas. The intention of this work is to give a concise overview of methods used in the determination of surface composition of materials facing the plasma in the JET tokamak. The aim was to determine the amount and distribution (lateral and indepth) of several elements or isotopes on large areas, i.e. mainly on high heat flux components such as limiter and divertor tiles. The major interest was in the quantification of deuterium co-deposited together with plasma impurity species: beryllium, boron, carbon (12 and 13) originating either from the wall erosion or deliberately introduced to the plasma as material transport markers. Special instrumentation, analytical approach and highlights of results obtained in studies of material transport by means of tracer techniques are presented. r 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.