Preliminary results of in situ laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy for the first wall diagnostics on EAST

Post-mortem methods cannot fulfill the requirement of monitoring the lifetime of the plasma facing components (PFC) and measuring the tritium inventory for the safety evaluation. Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is proposed as a promising method for the in situ study of fuel retention and impurity deposition in a tokamak. In this study, an in situ LIBS system was successfully established on EAST to investigate fuel retention and impurity deposition on the first wall without the need of removal tiles between plasma discharges. Spectral lines of D, H and impurities (Mo, Li, Si, … ) in laser-induced plasma were observed and identified within the wavelength range of 500-700 nm. Qualitative measurements such as thickness of the deposition layers, element depth profile and fuel retention on the wall are obtained by means of in situ LIBS. The results demonstrated the potential applications of LIBS for in situ characterization of fuel retention and co-deposition on the first wall of EAST.

Supported by the National Magnetic Confinement Fusion Science Program of China (Nos. 2013GB105002, 2015GB109001, and 2013GB109005), National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 11575243, 11605238, 11605023), Chinesisch-Deutsches Forschungs Project (GZ765), and Korea Research Council of Fundamental Science and Technology (KRCF) under the international collaboration & research in Asian countries (PG1314).