Dust in magnetic confinement fusion devices and its impact on plasma operation

The formation mechanisms of dust particles in fusion devices and the possib le interactions of dust with fusion plasmas are discussed. The growth of sm all, particles in the plasma edge of fusion discharges is suggested in anal ogy to the well-known growth in reactive process plasmas (dusty plasmas). R esults from the analysis of collected dust from TEXTOR-94 and first in situ observations by laser light scattering are presented, giving indirect evid ence for some of the discussed mechanisms. Dust formation is an important P SI issue with serious potential implications and deserves future in depth s tudies. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.