Behavior of deuterium retention and surface morphology for VPS–W/F82H

The deuterium (D) retention for Vacuum Plasma Spray (VPS)–tungsten (W)/F82H was studied using two different implantation methods, namely D plasma exposure and D2+ implantation. The D retention for polished VPS–W/F82H after plasma exposure was found to be reduced compared to that for polycrystalline tungsten. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observations indicated that porous structures around grain boundaries and the interface between VPS–W layers would be potential D diffusion paths, leading to low D retention. In the case of D2+ implantation, the shape of D2 TDS spectrum was almost the same as that for D plasma-exposed VPS–W/F82H; however, the D retention was quite high for unpolished VPS–W/F82H, indicating that most of D was trapped by the oxide layer, which was produced by the VPS process. The reduction of surface area due to the polishing process also reduces D retention for VPS–W/F82H. These results indicate that controlling the surface chemical states is important for the reduction of tritium retention for future fusion reactors.