Remote handling of material samples and the conditioning in a plasma generator operated in a hot cell

Within the framework of fusion technology new materials for the first wall are investigated. These materials must withstand reactor relevant high neutron fluxes which change structure and properties of the material and radio-activate it. The impact of neutron damage on plasma-material interaction with respect to thermal and particle loads is investigated in customized linear plasma generators in a hot cell. In order to avoid emission of possibly radioactive contamination and to get stable conditioning a remote handling system including lock system for the samples was developed for the Jülich plasma generator (JULE-PSI). All mountings and operations like moving and fixing the sample are designed such that maintenance and revisions are minimized at a high level of operational safety and availability. For instance, actuators are arranged outside the vacuum as much as possible. Furthermore in case of problems the radioactive sample can be removed from the vessel in a simple and reliable way. Concepts and detailed solutions are presented.