Low-Temperature H 2 /D 2 Plasma–W Material Interaction and W Dust Production for Fusion-Related Studies.

In this paper, results concerning hydrogen and deuterium plasma (RF, 13.56 MHz) interactions with tungsten surfaces, were reported. We used the Hollow-Cathode (HC) configuration for plasma–tungsten surface interaction experiments, along with the collection of tungsten dust, at different distances. Further on, the plasma-exposed tungsten surfaces and the collected dust were morphologically analyzed by contact profilometry, scanning electron microscopy, and energy dispersive spectroscopy measurements, along with chemical investigations by the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy technique. The results showed that exposing the tungsten surfaces to the hydrogen plasma induces surface erosion phenomena along with the formation of dust and interconnected W structures. Herein, the mean ejected material volume was ~1.1 × 10⁵ µm³. Deuterium plasma facilitated the formation of blisters at the surface level. For this case, the mean ejected material volume was ~3.3 × 10⁴ µm³. For both plasma types, tungsten dust within nano- and micrometer sizes could be collected. The current study offers a perspective of lab-scaled plasma systems, which are capable of producing tungsten fusion-like surfaces and dust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]