Helium Plasma Irradiation Research Articles

Ion energy dependence of helium plasma irradiation effects on the photoelectrochemical properties of tungsten oxide

Abstract Tungsten samples with fuzz nanostructures on the surface were generated using helium plasma with different incident ion energies, and then fuzz tungsten oxide electrodes were prepared by calcination. The photoelectrochemical (PEC) properties and stability of the samples were measured, and the dependence on the incident ion energy was discussed. The mechanism of the fuzz structure to enhance the PEC performance of tungsten oxide was analyzed by scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The results show that fuzzy sample fabricated with higher ion energy has greater PEC performance, which is mainly caused by the increase in active surface area.

Effects of surface anisotropy on the surface morphological response of plasma-facing tungsten

Surface free energy has been hypothesized as the cause behind the experimental evidence (Parish et al., 2014) of a strong correlation between crystallographic orientation and surface morphology changes in helium ion-irradiated tungsten at the early stages of ‘fuzz’ growth in fusion plasma-facing tungsten. Here, this hypothesis is tested through self-consistent dynamical simulation based on an atomistically informed model of surface evolution in plasma-irradiated tungsten. Low-energy helium plasma irradiation of a tungsten surface, even when the ion energy is below the sputtering threshold, generates surface vacancy-adatom pairs in addition to adatoms from the flux of self-interstitial atoms to the surface resulting from the growth of high-pressure helium bubbles. Along with the stress-driven surface morphological instability as the primary driving force, preferential diffusion of these surface adatoms modulated by the associated Ehrlich–Schwoebel (ES) barriers, combined with the surface free energy anisotropy drive the anisotropic surface nanostructure growth. Simulation results for helium irradiation on W(100) show growth of pyramidal surface features, akin to experimental observations. This work confirms the hypothesis on the effect of tungsten surface crystallographic orientation on helium-ion-induced surface morphology changes, where surface mound formation is the outcome of a stress-driven surface morphological instability, while the anisotropic growth of the mounds is controlled by the ES-barrier-modulated anisotropic surface adatom diffusion and faceting of the mounds is controlled by the surface free energy anisotropy.

Germanium nanostructures by helium plasma irradiation

The effects of helium plasma irradiation, which has been widely studied on metals, on germanium have been experimentally investigated. The irradiation temperature ranges from 430 to 720 K, and the incident ion energy ranges from 30 to 100 eV. From the scanning electron microscope (SEM) observation, it was found that various morphological changes including pits, nanocones, nanopillars, and roughened surfaces occur. The spatial scale of the morphological change was analyzed by applying fast Fourier transform to SEM micrographs. Thermal desorption spectroscopy analysis suggests that He atoms implanted on Ge play major roles in forming roughened surfaces at a surface temperature higher than 500 K.

Study of changes in the surface structure of tungsten irradiated by helium plasma

One of the important aspects is the interaction of plasma with the surface of a material, especially in the conditions of a fusion facility. The current work presents the preliminary results of the study of tungsten surface structure modification under helium plasma irradiation. A small-sized linear simulator KAZ-PSI with a plasma-beam setup was designed and assembled, where helium was used as a working gas. The main elements of the linear plasma simulator are an electron beam gun with a LaB6 cathode, a plasma-beam discharge chamber, an interaction chamber, a target device, and an electromagnetic system consisting of electromagnetic coils. It was revealed that under irradiation on the surface of the samples there is a relief with defective structure consisting of chaotically arranged ledges and pits of various shapes with average size (100‒600) nm and pore sizes (0.1‒1.5) μm with visible areas of flaking and sputtering. It was found that when the negative potential on the target is varied by –500V/–1000V/–1500V, the formation of dislocation with chaotic and cellular structure of tungsten with an average grain size of (1‒25) μm is observed; it was revealed that the total values of elastic and plastic components of deformation across the tungsten grain differ from each other by about 2.5 times.

Low onset potential for oxygen evolution reaction on hematite electrodes processed with He plasma irradiation

In this study, we investigated the effects of helium (He) plasma irradiation and thermal treatment on the morphology, the surface characteristics, and the photoelectrochemical performance of bulk iron (Fe) sheets. After processing, all samples consisted mainly of an α-Fe2O3 surface. Helium plasma irradiation resulted in a cathodic shift in the onset potential of the photocurrent from 1.16 VRHE (no pretreatment) to 0.57 VRHE (plasma exposure at 660 °C), where VRHE represents the potential versus reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE). An increase in the surface roughness and a smaller amount of hydroxyl or oxygen vacancies at the surface after photoelectrochemical measurement are related to the decrease of the onset potential. The results show that He plasma irradiation does not only modify the surface morphology, but also affects the functional properties of the materials.

Effect of Helium Plasma Irradiation on Microstructures and Mechanical Properties of Tungsten

Effect of Helium Plasma Irradiation on Microstructures and Mechanical Properties of Tungsten

Formation of corrugated nano-fuzz tungsten thin film on silicon via helium plasma irradiation

Tungsten thin films were deposited onto silicon substrates using sputtering techniques, and helium plasma irradiation was performed in a linear plasma device. Observations of the surface and cross-sectional morphology revealed the presence of a corrugated fiberform nanostructure, referred to as corrugated nano-fuzz, on the irradiated silicon samples. This structure has a distinct pattern of ridges and valleys with nanofibers on the surface. In addition to its unique morphology, the corrugated nano-fuzz demonstrates remarkable optical absorptivity, as revealed by optical absorptivity measurements, even after being exposed to helium plasma even for a short duration. The utilization of silicon-substrate thin film holds the potential to not only accelerate the processing for nanostructure growth but also yield uniformly corrugated structures and high optical absorptivity. These findings offer valuable insights for advancing the development of efficient fabrication methods within the field of nanotechnology.

Plasma-Driven Synthesis of 3D Self-Supported Ni-Fe Nanostructures for Green Hydrogen Production

Hydrogen is considered as a future energy carrier due to its desirable characteristics such as high energy density, wide range of applications, and near-zero greenhouse gas emissions. Amongst the various hydrogen production methods, electrochemical water splitting is a promising alternative for producing large-scale green hydrogen. Recently, Anion Exchange Membrane Water Electrolysis (AEMWE) has garnered special attention due to its advantages such as use of low-cost materials and higher performance over conventional techniques such as Alkaline Water Electrolysis (AWE) or Proton Exchange Membrane Water Electrolysis (PEMWE).In the development of anodic electrodes for AEMWE, nickel-based materials have been extensively studied as promising low-cost substitutes to expensive noble metal catalysts such as IrO2 and RuO2. To improve the catalytic performance, interfacial engineering, intercalation, nanostructuring techniques are commonly used1. The nanostructured catalysts are typically synthesized in powder form, which then requires a binder to coat them on a substrate. The extra interfaces between the catalyst, substrate and the electrolyte can cause charge and mass transfer limitations as well as restrict the availability of active sites2. Under gas evolution conditions, it can also lead to mechanical shedding and delamination of catalysts. This limits the applicability of emerging electrocatalysts on a commercial scale, thus making it essential to explore novel fabrication routes for synthesizing self-supported nanostructures.Helium plasma irradiation is a potential alternative wherein the nanostructures are created on the substrate itself, and thus can potentially alleviate some of the shortcomings of conventional methods. The plasma irradiation technique has been extensively studied in relation to the surface erosion and embrittlement of fusion reactors3,4. However, its application has been limited mostly to planar surfaces and only a few studies have employed this technique in solar-to-hydrogen production5,6. Herein, we report plasma-driven synthesis of nanostructured 3D electrodes and their integration in a membrane electrode assembly (MEA).The MEA with self-supported nanostructures delivers ≈25% higher performance than its bare counterpart at room temperature. Additionally, iron incorporation further increases the performance, surpassing commercially available NiFe electrocatalysts. Going forward, the durability and performance of the self-supported electrodes at higher temperatures will be explored and the applicability of this technique to other renewable energy systems is expected to be correlated.

Tungsten nanostructure growth by sputtering and redeposition in BCA-MD-KMC hybrid simulation

The formation mechanism of fibrous tungsten nanostructures, fuzz, induced by helium plasma irradiation on tungsten materials has been investigated. We have developed a BCA-MD-KMC hybrid simulation, which solves the injection process of helium atoms by the Binary Collision Approximation (BCA) method, the diffusion process of helium atoms in tungsten materials by the Kinetic Monte-Carlo (KMC) method, and the deformation of tungsten materials due to helium bubbles by the Molecular Dynamics (MD) method. In addition, the model used to calculate the recoiling of tungsten atoms in BCA was improved to account for the reduced binding energy of tungsten atoms on rough surfaces. Using the hybrid simulation, the height of the nanostructures reached about 50 nm. The main mechanism of nanostructure growth was that sputtering and redeposition caused transport of tungsten atoms perpendicular to the surface. The present simulation was able to represent not only the dependence that the nanostructure height increases in proportion to the square root of the helium fluence, but also the existence of incubation fluence before the growth starts.

Linear Plasma Device for the Study of Plasma–Surface Interactions

At the research and production company “PlasmaScience” (Ust-Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan), a linear plasma generator installation, KAZ-PSI (Kazakhstan Plasma Generator for Plasma Surface Interactions), has been developed and constructed for the study of the interaction of plasma and materials. This article outlines some features of the developed experimental installation designed for the investigation of surface–plasma interactions. The primary components of the linear plasma installation include an electron-beam gun with a LaB6 cathode, a plasma-beam discharge chamber, an interaction chamber, a target device, and an electromagnetic system comprising electromagnetic coils. The KAZ-PSI unit enables continuous plasma generation using hydrogen, deuterium, helium, argon, and nitrogen. The electron density of the plasma is in the range of about 1017–1018 m−3 and the electron temperature is in the range of 1 to 20 eV. The incident ion energy is regulated by applying a negative potential of up to 2 kV to the target. Experiments on the irradiation of tungsten with helium plasma were carried out using the KAZ-PSI installation for the first time. This article presents the research findings on the structure and properties of tungsten relative to the temperature of helium plasma irradiation. Alterations in roughness, microstructure, hardness, modulus of elasticity, and erosion of the tungsten’s surface following helium plasma irradiation at varying temperatures were examined. The study’s results indicate that helium plasma irradiation induces changes in the morphology of the tungsten’s surface, creating surface relief due to sputtering by helium ions, as well as the formation of blisters. Mechanical testing revealed that after irradiation at T = 500 °C, there was an increase in hardness of up to 10%, and a slight decrease in modulus of elasticity. And after irradiation at T = 900 °C and T = 1300 °C, both hardness and elastic modulus decreased with rising temperature. The tungsten surface erosion evaluation results showed that the degrees of surface erosion increase with increasing target temperature.

Linear plasma device for the study of plasma-surface interactions

In the research and production company "PlasmaScience" (Ust-Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan) a new laboratory linear plasma installation KAZ-PSI (Kazakstan plasma Generator for Plasma Surface Interactions) for studying the interaction of plasma with material has been developed and built. The article describes some features of the developed experimental setup for the study of surface-plasma interactions. The main elements of the linear plasma setup are an electron-beam gun with a LaB6 cathode, a plasma-beam discharge chamber, an interaction chamber, a target device, and an electromagnetic system consisting of electromagnetic coils. The KAZ-PSI facility allows generating continuous plasma of hydrogen, deuterium, helium, argon and nitrogen. The electron density of the plasma is in the range of the order of 1017 -1018 m-3 and the electron temperature is in the range of 1 to 20 eV. The incident ion energy is controlled by applying a negative bias of up to 2 kV to the target. Experiments on irradiation of tungsten with helium plasma were carried out for the first time at the KAZ-PSI facility. The paper presents the results of studies conducted to study changes in the tungsten mixture. The results have shown that after helium plasma irradiation the morphology of tungsten surface changes and relief is created on the surface due to atomisation of the surface by helium ions, as well as due to the formation of blisters.

Thermal response of nano-tendril bundles to steady heat load

AbstractNano-tendril bundles (NTBs) are nanostructures formed on the surface of tungsten under helium plasma irradiation with impurities. Upon annealing, NTBs of different sizes exhibit distinct morphological changes. This study aims to elucidate the underlying reasons for the different morphological changes observed in NTBs through the analysis of their thermal responses. A simulation approach was employed to investigate the temperature distribution of NTBs with different heights, aspect ratios, and porosities during annealing experiments. The simulation results revealed varying degrees of impact of height, aspect ratio, and porosity on the temperature distribution of NTBs during annealing. This finding contributes to a better understanding of the thermal properties and reactions of NTBs.

Fabrication of tungsten-based optical diffuser using fiberform nanostructure via efficient plasma route.

Optical diffusion is an essential process used to manage photons in a wide range of photoelectric systems. This work proposes an approach to fabricate novel optical diffusers by a plasma-processing technique, using fiberform nanostructures formed by helium plasma irradiation and subsequent annealing. After an annealing procedure in the air for oxidation, the optical properties and the light-diffusing abilities of these nanostructured thin films were studied. In addition to the morphology analysis and total transmittance measurement, the diffusion efficiency of the optical diffusers was analyzed using a transmitted scatter distribution function (TDF). It was revealed that the diffusion efficiency of a device with an irradiation time of 30 minutes could reach 97%. The results demonstrate the potential of these nanostructured optical diffusers for various photoelectric applications.

Effect of pulsed hydrogen and helium plasma irradiation on the formation of solid solutions in the thin-film CdTe/CdS heterosystem

The interphase interaction of cadmium sulfide and cadmium telluride thin film layers under irradiation with pulses of hydrogen and helium plasma was investigated by the X-ray diffraction method. CdS/CdTe heterosystem samples were obtained by the hot wall method on glass substrates with a transparent FTO electrode. During deposition of CdS layers 0.3–0.32 µm thick, the temperature of the evaporator zone was 590 °C, and the substrate temperature was 395 °C. CdTe layers 3.8–4.0 µm thick were deposited at an evaporation zone temperature of 520 °C and a substrate temperature of 497 °C. After deposition, the “chloride” treatment of the heterosystem was carried out. The “chloride” treatment consisted in the deposition of a cadmium chloride film 0.7 μm thick on the surface of a CdTe by thermal vacuum evaporation without heating the substrate and by annealing the entire structure in air at a temperature of 410-415 °C for 20 min. The composition of the solid solutions was determined from the lattice period according to Vegard's rule. In the initial state, along with the cubic phase of cadmium telluride, the presence of CdTe1-xSx solid solutions with a sulfur concentration of 3 % and 8.2 % is observed. After irradiation of the CdS/CdTe heterosystems with hydrogen plasma pulses, the entire base layer turned into a solid solution with a sulfur concentration of 3 %. At the same time, two more phases of CdTe1-xSx solid solutions with sulfur concentrations of 6 % and 11.5 % were observed. The relative concentration of the cadmium telluride phase in the initial state was 84 %, after irradiation with hydrogen plasma pulses it was 82 %. In the initial state, the phases of solid solutions with sulfur content of 3 % and 8.2 % had relative concentrations of 7 % and 9 %, respectively; after irradiation, their relative concentrations became 15 % and 3 %, respectively. After irradiation of the CdS/CdTe heterosystem with helium plasma pulses, the entire base layer turned into a solid solution with a sulfur concentration of 1.5 %. In this case, two more phases with a sulfur concentration of 3.7 % and 7.9 % were observed. The relative concentration of cadmium phase telluride after irradiation with hydrogen plasma pulses decreases to 79 %. After irradiation, the relative concentration of the phase of solid solutions with sulfur contents of 3 % and 8.2 % increases to 17 % and 12 %, respectively. The experimentally observed difference in the evolution of the phase composition of the CdS/CdTe film heterosystem under irradiation with hydrogen and helium plasma pulses may be due to the fact that irradiation with more massive helium atoms leads to a greater thermal effect, which causes melting.

Modeling tungsten response under helium plasma irradiation: a review

Tungsten, a leading candidate for plasma-facing materials (PFM) in future fusion devices, will be exposed to high-flux low-energy helium plasma under the anticipated fusion operation conditions. In the past two decades, experiments have revealed that exposure to helium plasma strongly modifies the surface morphology and hence the sputtering, thermal and other properties of tungsten, posing a serious danger to the performance and lifetime of tungsten and the steady-state operation of plasma. In this article, we provide a review of modeling and simulation efforts on the long-term evolution of helium bubbles, surface morphology, and property changes of tungsten exposed to low-energy helium plasma. The current gap and outstanding challenges to establish a predictive modeling capability for dynamic evolution of PFM are discussed.

Growth of fiberform nanostructures on metal surfaces by helium plasma irradiation

Helium plasma irradiation to various metals leads to peculiar morphology changes as forming fiberform nanostructures called fuzz when a certain set of conditions is satisfied. In this Tutorial, we overview experimental observations about the fuzz growth process, conditions, growth rate, etc. on tungsten (W), and fuzz growth observed on other various metals. The fuzz growth mechanism, open questions about fuzz growth, and current understandings on these issues are discussed based on simulation and theoretical works. Several applications (gas sensors and photocatalytic application) with fuzz are shown. We hope that this Tutorial will help new researchers in this field to perform experiments and simulations to reveal new perspectives of fuzz.

Helium-induced morphology evolution in tungsten under thermal treatment

Surface and near-surface morphology evolution of helium-irradiated tungsten due to thermal cycling up to the ITER-relevant temperature of 1350 K was studied using electron microscopy and positron annihilation spectroscopy techniques. Holes at the surface and bubbles in the near-surface of recrystallized polycrystalline tungsten samples were created by 75 eV helium plasma irradiation with the fluence of 3 × 1023 He m−2 at the surface temperature of 1073 K. Subsequent annealing experiments were combined with a detailed electron microscopy analysis to investigate the shape and density changes of holes and helium bubbles with respect to grain orientation. We show that the initially circular holes and round bubbles became faceted upon heating with 1 K s−1 ramp up to 870 K. Annealing cycles up to 1350 K induced resulted in bubbles removal in the first 5 nm below the surface and surface smoothing. Electron energy loss spectroscopy measurements allowed estimation of helium gas density and pressure inside bubbles. Positron annihilation spectroscopy allowed to investigate the nature of defects and their evolution in the helium-irradiated tungsten with thermal cycling.

MXene‐Sponge Based High‐Performance Piezoresistive Sensor for Wearable Biomonitoring and Real‐Time Tactile Sensing (Small Methods 2/2022)

Flexible Piezoresistive Pressure Sensor In article number 2101051, Ye, Xie, Su, Chen and co-workers were inspired by Helium embrittlement during nuclear fusion processes, to utilize Helium plasma irradiation to yield a nano-fuzz-shaped molybdenum electrode for a flexible piezoresistive pressure sensor, which was demonstrated to measure human radial pulse, detect the tapping, stamping, and perform object identification, revealing great feasibility in wearable biomonitoring and healthcare assessment.

Optical Properties of Fiberform Nanostructured Tungsten in the Infrared Wavelength Range

Fiberform nanostructured tungsten (FN-W) samples were synthesized by helium plasma irradiation with different irradiation times. It is shown that the optical reflectivity decreases significantly with the increase of the irradiation time, even in a long-wavelength infrared range up to several dozen µm. These experimental results are of importance for the usage of retroflectors and will offer a promising direction for other practical applications.

MXene-Sponge Based High-Performance Piezoresistive Sensor for Wearable Biomonitoring and Real-Time Tactile Sensing.

Electrode microfabrication technologies such as lithography and deposition have been widely applied in wearable electronics to boost interfacial coupling efficiency and device performance. However, a majority of these approaches are restricted by expensive and complicated processing techniques, as well as waste discharge. Here, helium plasma irradiation is employed to yield a molybdenum microstructured electrode, which is constructed into a flexible piezoresistive pressure sensor based on a Ti3 C2 Tx nanosheet-immersed polyurethane sponge. This electrode engineering strategy enables the smooth transition between sponge deformation and MXene interlamellar displacement, giving rise to high sensitivity (1.52kPa-1 ) and good linearity (r2 =0.9985) in a wide sensing range (0-100kPa) with a response time of 226ms for pressure detection. In addition, both the experimental characterization and finite element simulation confirm that the hierarchical structures modulated by pore size, plasma bias, and MXene concentration play a crucial role in improving the sensing performance. Furthermore, the as-developed flexible pressure sensor is demonstrated to measure human radial pulse, detect finger tapping, foot stomping, and perform object identification, revealing great feasibility in wearable biomonitoring and health assessment.