Hydrogen isotope accumulation in the helium implantation zone in tungsten

The influence of helium (He) on deuterium (D) transport and retention was studied experimentally in tungsten (W). Helium was implanted 1 µm deep into W to a maximum calculated concentration of 3.4 at.%. To minimize the influence of displacement damage created during the He implantation on D retention, so-called self-damaged W was used. W was damaged by 20 MeV W ion bombardment and defects were populated by low-temperature D plasma at room temperature before He implantation. Deuterium depth profiling was performed in situ during isochronal annealing in the temperature range from 300 K to 800 K. It is shown for the first time unambiguously that He attracts D and locally increases D trapping. Deuterium retention increased by a factor of two as compared to a non-He implanted W reference after sample annealing at 450 K. Rate equation modelling can explain the measured D depth profiles quantitatively when keeping the de-trapping parameters unchanged but only increasing the number of traps in the He zone. This bolsters the confidence in the theoretical calculations predicting that more hydrogen isotopes can be stored around a He cluster zone.