AFM and STM characterization of surfaces exposed to high flux deuterium plasma

• This paper reports the results of scanning tunneling (STM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) studies of D+ irradiated graphite and graphite-silicon mixtures. The microscopes were used for studying surface topography and for measuring the surface roughness. The substrates were exposed at various temperatures (60 and 700°C) to different doses of deuterium ions in simulators of plasma - surface interactions and in the TEXTOR tokamak. Also nuclear reaction analysis (NRA) and Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy were applied for the qualitative and quantitative determination of surface composition. The initial stages of radiation damage, nanometer-sized bubbles/blisters, were found in plasma-eroded surfaces. These structures only appeared in the graphite phase on the multicomponent material. The microroughness of the surfaces was measured. We also used the AFM for probing the thickness of the plasma-modified layers. The results correlate with the presence of deuterium measured by NRA depth-profiling. Moreover, the AFM reveals the co-deposited layers formed on surfaces facing the tokamak plasma. The appearance of these layers is clearly correlated to the amount of co-deposited atoms.

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NATURVETENSKAP  -- Fysik -- Annan fysik (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Physical Sciences -- Other Physics Topics (hsv//eng)

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