Pulsed-laser ablation of co-deposits on JT-60 graphite tile

Pulsed laser ablation of the co-deposits on a JT-60 open-divertor tile using the fourth harmonic of a 20 ps-Nd: YAG laser has been investigated. With increasing the laser intensity, three regions, non-ablation region (NAR), weak-ablation region (WAR), and strong-ablation region (SAR) were distinguished. Transition from NAR to WAR and WAR to SAR occurred at the threshold laser intensity for laser ablation and that for strong ionization of carbon atoms, respectively. The ablation accompanied desorption of H2 and C2H2, with minor contribution of other hydrocarbons, while production of H2O was small. In NAR and WAR the number of the hydrogen desorbed by the laser irradiation was less than that of hydrogen retained in the ablated volume, while in SAR it was much larger, owing to thermal desorption of hydrogen gas from the region surrounding the ablated volume. For the ablative removal of hydrogen isotopes, SAR is more desirable because of higher removal efficiency and less production of hydrocarbons.