Influence of Be seeding on microstructures of tungsten exposed to D–He mixture plasmas in PISCES and its impacts on retention properties

Abstract Microstructural changes and their impacts on D retention properties in tungsten (W) are investigated due to mixed species D–Be–He plasma exposure. Be seeding to D + He mixture plasmas results in the suppression of high density He nano-bubbles, which are distinctive internal defects observed in He irradiated/exposed metals. In contrast, cavities appear in the near surface of W exposed to D + Be plasmas, when a thick Be deposition layer forms. Since bubbles are not generally observed in W exposed to D plasma, the cavities seem to be deuterium bubbles formed in the deposited Be layer. While D retention significantly decreases in W exposed to D + He plasma without Be, Be seeding to D + He mixture plasmas obstructs this He seeding effect. As a consequence, it is considered that Be seeding has a more dominant influence on microstructures and D retention in plasma-exposed W than He seeding.