Experimental study of the erosion of Ar/H2 plasma facing carbon surfaces: optical emission spectroscopy, mass spectrometry and spectroscopic ellipsometry measurements

Carbon materials could be used for divertor plates in the ITER fusion device. Numerous studies (experimental or modeling) have been undertaken to better understand the chemical processes involved in carbon erosion by hydrogen atoms or ions. These works have been performed for several kinds of carbon layers and different hydrogen (or deuterium) ion fluxes. Results of an experimental study on carbon-material erosion under hydrogen bombardment will be presented. Optical emission spectroscopy and mass spectrometry have been employed to determine the presence of excited and stable molecules that are formed under these conditions. Ex situ spectroscopic ellipsometry has been used to calculate the erosion rate. In order to determine this erosion rate during plasma exposure and with a better precision, preliminary results on in situ spectroscopic ellipsometry will be presented.