Optimization of single crystal mirrors for ITER diagnostics

•Single crystal molybdenum is a prime material for ITER first mirrors.•Resistance of a mirror to plasma sputtering is crucial for mirror cleaning.•Effect of crystal orientation on sputtering resistance was studied for single crystal molybdenum.•Mirror with [110] orientation was 42% more sputter-resistant than other mirrors, meaning longer lifetime in ITER.•Molecular dynamics evaluation has proven [110] as the most favorable orientation. Diagnostic mirrors are planned to be used in all optical diagnostics in ITER. Degradation of mirrors due to e.g. deposition of plasma impurities will hamper the entire performance of affected diagnostics. in situ mirror cleaning by plasma sputtering is presently envisaged for the recovery of contaminated mirrors. There are observations showing a signature of sputtering dependence on crystal orientation. Should such a dependence exist, the sputtering of single crystal mirrors could be minimized, thus prolonging a mirror lifetime. Four single crystal molybdenum mirrors with different orientations were produced to study the effect of crystal orientation on sputtering. Mirrors were exposed to argon plasma under identical plasma conditions relevant to those expected in the mirror cleaning systems of ITER. The energy of impinging ions was about 60 eV. The amount of sputtered material corresponded to about a hundred mirror cleaning cycles in argon. Plasma exposures did not affect the mirror reflectivity. The maximum decrease of specular reflectivity did not exceed 5% at 250 nm. The mirrors with orientations [110]/[101] demonstrated up to 42% less sputtering than the mirrors with other crystal orientations. These findings outline the advantage of a favorable crystal orientation for a cleaning of heavy contaminants from ITER mirrors.