Helium ions irradiation of tantalum-zirconium carbide thin films: The effect of acetylene gas contents

Abstract

Considering that the materials play a vital role in the life-time of future nuclear fusion reactors, it is necessary to research and discover the new candidate materials and evaluate their behavior in simulated environments. For this purpose, in this study, at first, tantalum-zirconium carbide (TaZrC) thin films were deposited on tungsten (W) substrate by using DC Magnetron Sputtering at different acetylene (C2H2)/argon (Ar) gas contents. Subsequently, the microstructural and mechanical properties of the thin films were assessed under the helium Ions irradiation with energy and fluence of 700 keV and 7 × 1019 ions/m2, respectively. Then, X-ray diffraction (XRD) was employed to evaluate the microstructure of as-deposited and irradiated TaZrC thin films. Moreover, the nanoindentation test discovered that the hardness and elastic modulus of the thin films reduced after irradiation. The Raman spectroscopy showed different bonds available in the thin films. The FESEM images indicated that significant defects such as bubbles, voids, and blisters did not form on the surface of the thin films. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) detected that the carbon content of the thin films increased after irradiation. Finally, radiation damage and displacement-per-atom (dpa) were estimated for different elemental compositions using the SRIM simulation code based on the damage energy method.