Deuterium inventory in Tore Supra: status of post mortem analyses

A dedicated study on fuel retention has been launched in Tore Supra which included a D wall-loading campaign and the dismantling of the main limiter (Deuterium Inventory in Tore Supra, DITS project). This paper presents new results of post-mortem analyses performed on selected limiter tiles. Scanning electron microscopy shows thick layers with poloidally oriented tip-shaped structures in deposition zones. In the erosion zone deposits inside the open porosities of the bulk material of the tiles were found. Raman microscopy indicates that hard deuterated amorphous carbon layers are deposited on the limiter tiles and on their gap sides. Secondary ion mass spectrometry D depth profiles show an increase of the D content near the bottom of the gap, in agreement with previous results. The campaign markers (¹³C and ¹¹B) are found in only 2 out of 7 measurements in the deposited layers. Finally, the agreement of the SIMS data with previous nuclear reaction analysis (NRA) measurements is discussed, especially discrepancies possibly due to the non-uniformity of the samples.