Isotope exchange experiments on TEXTOR and TORE SUPRA using Ion Cyclotron Wall Conditioning and Glow Discharge Conditioning

Abstract: This contribution reports on isotope exchange studies with both Ion Cyclotron Wall Conditioning (ICWC) and Glow Discharge Conditioning (GDC) in TEXTOR and TORE SUPRA. The discharges have been carried out in H2, D2 (ICWC and GDC) and He/H2 mixtures (ICWC). The higher reionization probability in ICWC compared to GDC, following from the 3 to 4 orders of magnitude higher electron density, leads to a lower pumping efficiency of wall desorbed species. GDC has in this analysis (5–10) times higher removal rates of wall desorbed species than ICWC, although the wall release rate is 10 times higher in ICWC. Also the measured high retention during ICWC can be understood as an effect of the high reionization probability. The use of short RF pulses (∼1s) followed by a larger pumping time significantly improves the ratio of implanted over recovered particles, without severely lowering the total amount of removed particles. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]