Irradiation effects in ceramics for fusion reactor applications

A review is given on the status of R&D of ceramics for fusion reactor appli cations. Emphasis is placed on the engineering design activity of fusion re actor, the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, Engineering De sign Activities (ITER-EDA) as well as related research of electrical, diele ctric and mechanical properties, and fundamental aspects of defects. The pa per is based mainly on the presentations and discussion, including a keynot e lecture and several short presentations by invited panelists, at the disc ussion session of 'Ceramic Insulators for Fusion Energy Applications' at IC FRM-8, on 30th October 1997 in Sendai, Japan. This report illustrates how t he ITER-EDA and other related international activities have functioned not only to coordinate, but also to promote international collaborations and to mobilize the limited research resources effectively. A database which is n ecessary for reliable design of diagnostic components in ITER is included i n the review. (C) 1999 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserv ed.