title: The materials irradiation experiment for testing plasma facing materials at fusion relevant conditions.
abstract: The Materials Irradiation Experiment (MITE-E) was constructed at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Inertial Electrostatic Confinement Laboratory to test materials for potential use as plasma-facing materials (PFMs) in fusion reactors. PFMs in fusion reactors will be bombarded with x-rays, neutrons, and ions of hydrogen and helium. More needs to be understood about the interactions between the plasma and the materials to validate their use for fusion reactors. The MITE-E simulates some of the fusion reactor conditions by holding samples at temperatures up to 1000 °C while irradiating them with helium or deuterium ions with energies from 10 to 150 keV. The ion gun can irradiate the samples with ion currents of 20 μA-500 μA; the typical current used is 72 μA, which is an average flux of 9 × 10(14) ions/(cm(2) s). The ion gun uses electrostatic lenses to extract and shape the ion beam. A variable power (1-20 W), steady-state, Nd:YAG laser provides additional heating to maintain a constant sample temperature during irradiations. The ion beam current reaching the sample is directly measured and monitored in real-time during irradiations. The ion beam profile has been investigated using a copper sample sputtering experiment. The MITE-E has successfully been used to irradiate polycrystalline and single crystal tungsten samples with helium ions and will continue to be a source of important data for plasma interactions with materials.
authors: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 1 Bethel Valley Road, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA.
authors: L M
authors: LM
authors: Garrison
authors: Fusion Technology Institute, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1500 Engineering Drive, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA.
authors: S J
authors: SJ
authors: Zenobia
authors: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 1 Bethel Valley Road, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA.
authors: B J
authors: BJ
authors: Egle
authors: Fusion Technology Institute, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1500 Engineering Drive, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA.
authors: G L
authors: GL
authors: Kulcinski
authors: Fusion Technology Institute, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1500 Engineering Drive, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA.
authors: J F
authors: JF
authors: Santarius