Experimental infrastructure
Accelerator laboratory
Sample surfaces can be investigated and modified at the six analysis stations of the tandem accelerator lab. Voltages of up to 3 million volts can accelerate various projectile ions to energies of several million electron volts. This allows one to investigate the composition of chemical elements near the sample surface and their depth distribution. [more]
Experiments on Plasma-Wall Interaction
GLADIS high-heat-flux test facility
In the Garching Large Divertor Sample test facility (GLADIS) samples and components are exposed to high heat and particle fluxes of up to 90 megawatts per square metre. This allows first-wall components of a fusion experiment to be tested under realistic conditions.
[more], [press release begin of operation 2005]
Metallography and microscopy
Detailed chemical analyses and materials science investigations are conducted in the metallography laboratory and with different optical microscopes and electron microscopes. [more]
Electron microscopy
Scanning electron microscopy allows higher resolution as well as a higher focal depth than optical microscopy by employing a high energy electron beam. [more]
Microanalysis
Near-surface atomic compositions of samples as well as their chemical bonds and crystal structure are investigated by various specialised methods, e.g. photo-electron spectroscopy or x-ray diffraction. [more]
Thermal desorption spectroscopy
Gases dissolved in solids, e.g. hydrogen in metals such as steel or tungsten, are released in an ultra-high vacuum at high temperatures and detected and quantified by mass spectroscopy. [more]
Ion source SIESTA
Hydrogen retention and erosion of wall materials are two critical processes which will impact the operation and lifetime of a future fusion reactor. At SIESTA (Second Ion Experiment for Sputtering and TDS Analysis), a well-defined, mass-filtered ion beam is used to study in-vacuo erosion of wall materials via physical sputtering and retention with dedicated vacuum microbalance and thermal desorption setups.[more]
Permeation experiment TAPAS
The ion source SIESTA has been upgraded with a novel beam-line: TAPAS.
In this new experiment, ion-driven permeation of hydrogen or deuterium through thin foils can be investigated at sample temperatures up to 1000 K. Protium or deuterium implanted under well-defined energy and fluence into the sample diffuse through it and are detected in a separate vacuum chamber with a quadrupole mass spectrometer. [more]
Low-temperature plasma experiment PlaQ
With the PlaQ experiment (= PlasmaQuelle), materials can be exposed to fusion-relevant species such as hydrogen, deuterium or helium under well-defined conditions (temperature, species, energy). It is a low-temperature plasma generated by resonant coupling of microwave radiation. This electrodeless discharge allows e.g. to decorate defects in the material with low particle energy (a few electron volts) with deuterium without creating additional defects. [more]
Thermal analyses
In various furnaces and heating systems samples can be heated up to 2800 °C to investigate their thermal properties. Depending on the objective, the samples can be heated in vacuum or other atmospheres, e.g. inert gases such as argon and helium or reactive gases such as oxygen. Gases released from the samples can be identified and quantified by means of mass spectrometry. [more]
Coating devices
Thin films from nanometers to micrometers of almost any elemental composition can be produced by physical vapour deposition methods, e.g. by magnetron sputtering or vapour deposition.
Divertor manipulator at ASDEX Upgrade
The divertor manipulator of the ASDEX Upgrade fusion device allows exposure of material samples to the plasma. A vacuum lock allows samples to be exchanged from day to day without breaking the main vacuum of the ASDEX Upgrade plasma vessel. The standard sample head of the manipulator carries two target plates of the outer divertor, which, depending on the objective of the investigation, can be fitted with special samples or marker coatings. [more]