Desorption of halogens from Nb, Mo, Ta and W polycrystalline surfaces

Abstract

The desorption kinetics of halogens from Nb, Ta, Mo and W polycrystalline surfaces are studied, at low coverage (Θ ⩽ 10 −2 of a monolayer) and high temperature (1800–2400 K), using a pulsed ionic beam method. For a relatively high energy incident positive ion beam (ϵ = 2500 eV), the diffusion kinetics of implanted Br and I ions towards the surface are observed. At low energy (ϵ < 500 eV), a first order kinetic corresponding to the desorption of halogens from these surfaces is found. Preliminary results are given on the desorption energy and the preexponential factor of halogens adsorbed on Nb, Mo, Ta and W polycrystalline surfaces. The main result of this systematic study is that the mean adsorption lifetime for a given temperature, as the desorption energy decreases for F through I on all of the studied surfaces. A similarity between Nb and Ta, as between Mo and W surfaces for the desorption energies of halogens is also found.