Influence of the microstructure on the deuterium retention in tungsten

Abstract The microstructure of tungsten samples is systematically modified by recrystallization to investigate the structure dependence of deuterium (D) retention. After a thorough characterization by scanning and transmission electron microscopy, non-recrystallized samples and samples recrystallized by different degrees are loaded with deuterium in a low-temperature plasma device. The deuterium inventory is measured by nuclear reaction analysis and thermal desorption spectroscopy. The post implantation surface morphology is investigated by scanning electron, optical and atomic force microscopy. The modification by recrystallization allows a wide variation in the crystallite size and has a strong impact on the measured D retention. Both the total amount and the binding state of the retained D are changed.