The trapping of deuterium in argon-implanted nickel

Abstract

Argon ions with energy 250 keV were implanted at fluences of 2×1016 cm−2 at temperatures of 500, 250, and 21 °C, in a specimen of relatively pure polycrystalline nickel. Deuterium was introduced into the surface and implanted regions by making the specimen the negative electrode of an electrolytic cell containing 1-N pure deuterated sulfuric acid. Deuterium trapped in the vacancy complexes of the implanted regions was analyzed as a function of temperature using the 2H(3He,1H)4He nuclear reaction during an isochronal annealing process. The results indicate that the types of traps and trap densities found in the regions implanted at 21 and 250 °C were essentially identical while the trap density found in the region implanted at 500 °C was approximately 40% of that found in the other regions. Math model comparison with the experimental results suggests the existence of at least two types of traps in each region. Trap binding enthalpies used in the math model to fit the experimental data were slightly higher for the region implanted with argon at 500 °C than for the regions implanted at the lower temperatures. TEM studies revealed the presence of small voids in the region implanted at 500 °C as well as dislocation loops similar to those found in the regions implanted at the lower temperatures.