Suppression of hydrogenated carbon film deposition and hydrogen isotope retention by nitrogen addition into cold remote H/D and CH4 mixture plasmas

Abstract

Control of tritium retention and its removal from the first wall of future fusion devices are one of the most crucial issues for safety and effective use for fuel. Nitrogen addition into remote edge plasmas has been considered and tested as an effective method for suppression of carbon film deposition and reduction of hydrogen isotope absorption in the deposited films. In this paper we have investigated the scavenger effects of nitrogen injected into low temperature D2/CH4 plasmas on hydrogenated carbon film growth using a small helical device. The result of the deposition shows that the key reactive particles with CN and ND(H) bonds to suppression of hydrogenated carbon film growth and hydrogen isotope absorption are much slowly generated compared with hydrocarbon particles such as CD(H)x and C2D(H)x. This may be due to the slow atomic nitrogen diffusion into hydrogenated carbon layer and the chemical equilibrium between nitrogen absorption.