First gaseous boronization during pulsed discharge cleaning

The first successful gaseous boronization during a pulsed discharge is reported. Sublimation of o-carborane (C2B10H12) combined with pulsed discharge plasmas with a repetition rate of 1 Hz is used to produce a hard boron-containing coating for reversed field pinch (RFP) plasmas in the Madison Symmetric Torus. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy with Ar ion beam etching for silicon coupons installed at the plasma boundary shows about 60% boron concentration in the deposited layer. Both profilometer and scanning electron microscope analyses of the silicon coupons imply a strong toroidally non-uniform deposition depending on the location of the o-carborane injection. The layer thickness ranges from 50 to 300 nm. Ellipsometry calibrated with the profilometer results yields a refractive index of 2.2–2.3 for the films. The high refractive index implies that the coating is hard and has a well-ordered morphology. A reduction in wall recycling has consistently been observed after all boronization sessions. Comparison of the X-ray spectra in standard RFP plasmas before and after boronization indicates a slight decrease in the effective ionic charge.