Laser-induced removal of co-deposits from graphitic plasma-facing components: Characterization of irradiated surfaces and dust particles

Laser-induced fuel desorption and ablation of co-deposited layers on limiter plates from the TEXTOR tokamak have been studied. Gas phase composition was monitored in situ, whereas the ex situ studies have been focused on the examination of irradiated surfaces and broad analysis of dust generated by ablation of co-deposits. The size of the dust grains is in the range of few nanometers to hundreds of micrometers. These are fuel-rich dust particles, as determined by nuclear reaction analysis. The presence of deuterium in dust indicates that not all fuel species are transferred to the gas phase during irradiation. This also suggests that photonic removal of fuel and the ablation of co-deposit from plasma-facing components may lead to the redistribution of fuel-containing dust to surrounding areas. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.