Quantitative evaluation of hydrogen atoms trapped at single vacancies in tungsten using positron annihilation lifetime measurements: Experiments and theoretical calculations

The change in the positron annihilation lifetime (PAL) of vacancies containing hydrogen atoms was investigated by taking PAL measurements in tungsten. The vacancies were introduced by electron irradiation, and hydrogen atoms were charged under a high-pressure hydrogen atmosphere (5.8 MPa). The PAL of single vacancies was measured to be approximately 175 ps, which decreased to approximately 155 ps after hydrogen charging. The PAL of single vacancies containing hydrogen atoms was calculated using the electron density obtained by a first principles calculation. The change in the PAL of vacancies containing hydrogen atoms was measured in experiments and calculated in simulations, and then, the two values were compared. It was found that one vacancy captured one or two hydrogen atoms (an average of 1.6 atoms). The binding energy of hydrogen to vacancies of 1.19 eV was obtained under the assumption of a thermal equilibrium state, which was slightly higher than the value determined by a previous study (1.06 eV). It is believed that the effect of impurities causes this discrepancy. The elucidation of the effect of impurities on the change in the PAL and the binding energy leads to greater accuracy in the quantitative evaluation of the hydrogen atoms trapped at single vacancies.