Review of LIBS application in nuclear fusion technology

Abstract

Nuclear fusion has enormous potential to greatly affect global energy production. The next-generation tokamak ITER, which is aimed at demonstrating the feasibility of energy production from fusion on a commercial scale, is under construction. Wall erosion, material transport, and fuel retention are known factors that shorten the lifetime of ITER during tokamak operation and give rise to safety issues. These factors, which must be understood and solved early in the process of fusion reactor design and development, are among the most important concerns for the community of plasma–wall interaction researchers. To date, laser techniques are among the most promising methods that can solve these open ITER issues, and laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is an ideal candidate for online monitoring of the walls of current and next-generation (such as ITER) fusion devices. LIBS is a widely used technique for various applications. It has been considered recently as a promising tool for analyzing plasma-facing components in fusion devices in situ. This article reviews the experiments that have been performed by many research groups to assess the feasibility of LIBS for this purpose.