Beryllium coatings on metals for marker tiles at JET: development of process and characterization of layers

Preparatory study for the operation of the JET tokamak with a full metal wall (ITER-like wall project) also comprises several activities aiming at the development of thin beryllium coatings. The purpose is 2-fold: ( i) to coat Inconel (R) tiles of the inner wall cladding; (ii) to develop methods for production of films for so-called marker tiles in order to enable monitoring of Be erosion from limiters. Properties of the marker film must match, as closely as possible, those of bulk Be. The first step in the R&D process was to assess coating methods and the quality of layers deposited on test coupons. Smooth, dense Be films of high purity and good adhesion to the substrate were deposited with an average deposition rate of 5 +/- 0.5 nm s(-1) to a thickness of 7.5 mu m. A marker structure consisting of a 7.5 mu m Be film on top of a 2.5 mu m Ni interlayer deposited on a bulk Be block has been developed and characterized by means of material analysis methods. An overview of manufacturing processes and properties of the marker coatings is presented.