Temperature impact on the micro structure of tungsten exposed to He irradiation in LHD

Abstract A new temperature controlled material probe was designed for the exposure of tungsten samples to helium plasma in the LHD. Samples were exposed to estimated fluences of ∼1023 m−2 and temperatures ranging from 65 to 600 °C. Transmission Electron Microscopy analysis allowed the study of the impact of He irradiation under high temperatures on tungsten micro structure for the first time in real-plasma exposure conditions. Both dislocation loops and bubbles appeared from low to medium temperatures and saw an impressive increase of size (factor 4 to 6) most probably by coalescence as the temperature reaches 600 °C, with 500 °C appearing as a threshold for bubble growth. Annealing of the samples up to 800 C highlighted the stability of the dislocation damages formed by helium irradiation at high surface temperature, as bubbles and dislocation loops seem to conserve their characteristics. Additional studies on cross-sections showed that bubbles were formed much deeper (70–100 nm) than the heavily damaged surface layer (10–20 nm), raising concern about the impact on the material mechanical properties conservation and potential additional trapping of hydrogen isotopes.