In the IFMIF-DONES facility of the future, the back-plate behind the Li target will receive strong irradiation from high-energy neutrons. The potential use of the back-plate for material specimens is attractive with respect to providing complementary irradiation data for Eurofer. In this work, DPA (displacement per atom) and gas production rates as well as DPA gradients and temperature distributions have been studied for the center segment of the back-plate, using both a nominal beam and a reduced beam footprint. It is shown that specimens can be produced with high DPA in similar conditions to the DEMO first-wall. Based on the size of the SSTT (small specimen test technology) specimens, the limited number of samples obtainable from the adopted arrangement scheme is driven by a major constraint: the thickness of the back-plate. A parametric study of the back-plate’s thickness provides an alternative arrangement scheme; thus, the DPA and gradient of the specimens are remarkably improved
