Adequate helium enrichment and exhaust have been
achieved in reactor relevant ELMy H mode plasmas in JET
performed in the Mark II divertor geometry. These quantities,
describing the retention of impurities in divertors, have been
experimentally inferred from CXRS measurements in the core
plasma, and from a spectroscopic analysis of a Penning gauge
discharge in the exhaust gas. The retention of helium was found
to be sufficient with respect to the requirements in a next step
device, with helium enrichment factors exceeding 0.1 in high
density ELMy H mode discharges. With increasing core plasma
density the helium partial pressure in the exhaust channel
increases. While in L mode plasmas the helium enrichment
decreases with increasing core plasma density, it remains almost
constant in ELMy H mode plasma. The noble gas neon is better
enriched in the divertor at high core plasma densities in both
confinement regimes. These experimental results can be explained
by the significant differences between the penetration depths of
the impurity neutrals and by their subsequent different impurity
transport mechanisms. Analytical and numerical analyses of these
plasmas using the impurity code package DIVIMP/NIMBUS support
the proposition that, owing to their much longer ionization mean
free path, helium particles can escape from the divertor chamber
as neutrals, while neon escapes by means of ion leakage.
Consequently, the divertor plasma conditions strongly influence
the noble gas compression and enrichment. Variations of the
divertor plasma configuration and modifications to the divertor
geometry have enhanced the pumping capabilities of the tokamak,
but have been found not to affect the helium enrichment.