Helium and deuterium implantation in tungsten at elevated temperatures

Abstract High temperature helium and deuterium implantation on tungsten has been studied using the University of Wisconsin inertial electrostatic confinement device. Helium or deuterium ions from a plasma source were driven into polished tungsten powder metallurgy samples. Deuterium implantation did not damage the surface of the specimens at elevated temperatures (∼1200 °C). Helium implantation resulted in a porous surface structure above 700 °C. A helium fluence scan, ion energy scan, and temperature scan were all completed. With 30 keV ions, the pore formation started just below 4 × 1016 He+/cm2. The pore size increased and the pore density decreased with increasing fluence and temperature. The energy scan from 20 to 80 keV showed no consistent trend.