Table of contents

The 19^th Conference on Plasma Surface Interactions (PSI-2016) was held at National Research Nuclear University MEPhI (Moscow Engineering Physics Institute) on 28-29 January 2016. This is a traditional annual meeting organized by MEPhI for many years and devoted to the recent achievements of Russian scientists and foreign colleagues in experimental and computer simulations of plasma and its components' interactions with plasma faced materials (PFM) for fusion devices and plasma technologies. The conference agenda covered a broad list of topics including:

• plasma induced erosion and modification of materials;

• radiation damage in materials;

• lithium and liquid metals as PFM;

• modeling of plasma surface interaction and processes in SOL of tokamak plasma;

• diagnostics of plasma-surface interaction.

The aim of the conference was to present and discuss new results in PSI in a wide audience with different areas of expertise. The important feature of the conference is to give PhD and undergraduate students the opportunity for approbation of results of their scientific activity and improve their knowledge in the novel directions of R&D in the field of fusion and plasma technologies. In total, more than 80 experienced and young researchers participated in the conference.

These Proceedings contain 21 papers selected for publication, which were reviewed by the invited international team of editors (T. Tanabe, S. Petrovich, Ch. Grisolia, Yu. Martynenko, S. Krasheninnikov, L. Begrambekov, A. Pisarev).

The Conference as well as editing of this issue were supported by National Research Nuclear University MEPhI in the framework of the Russian Academic Excellence Project (contract No. 02.a03.21.0005, 27.08.2013).

Finally, we would like to thank all of the speakers, participants and organizing committee members for their contribution to the conference.

Acknowledgements

The organizers of the conference would like to thank for the support from National Research Nuclear University MEPhI in the framework of the Russian Academic Excellence Project (contract No. 02.a03.21.0005, 27.08.2013).

All papers published in this volume of Journal of Physics: Conference Series have been peer reviewed through processes administered by the proceedings Editors. Reviews were conducted by expert referees to the professional and scientific standards expected of a proceedings journal published by IOP Publishing.

Droplet erosion and shielding plasma layer are shown to be closely connected and should be considered together self consisted. Droplet erosion is caused by plasma flow over the melt metal surface. Shielding plasma is produced from droplets evaporation. Experimental data analysis and theoretical models for these processes are presented.

A new simplified analytical expression for the electromagnetic field in the Debye sheath in the presence of an oblique magnetic field including surface biasing effect is suggested. It is in good agreement with the numerical solution of the integral equation for the potential distribution in the Debye sheath. The energy and angular impact distributions and corresponding surface sputtering yields were analyzed in the presence of an oblique magnetic field and surface biasing. The analytical expression was used to estimate a) the effective sputtering yield of the W target with a varying negative voltage against plasma in PSI-2 linear device and b) erosion of the JET outer wall Be limiter near the ICRH antenna enhanced during RF emission.

A device used for both coating deposition and material testing is presented in the paper. By using lock chambers, sputtering targets are easily exchanged with sample holder thus allowing testing of deposited samples with high power density electron or ion beams. Boron carbide coatings were deposited on tungsten samples. Methods of increasing coating adhesion are described in the paper. 2 μm boron carbide coatings sustained 450 heating cycles from 100 to 900 C. Ion beam tests have shown satisfactory results.

Formation of dust particles in thermonuclear reactors can greatly affect the plasma parameters and lead to accumulation of tritium. The rates of formation and deposition of dust need to be measured, and the parameters of formation of dust particles and clusters need to be studied. A model of a device for collection of fine conductive particles capable of removing them from the reactor chamber for future research is proposed in this paper. The dust collector's operation is based on a principle of applied electrostatic field. The model was tested in different operating conditions: in vacuum, at the atmospheric pressure in the atmosphere of air and dry nitrogen. The experiments were conducted with a stationary system and with the dust collector in motion relative to the dusty surface. It is shown that, during the probe moving relative to the surface, it can remove up to 95% of fine tungsten particles with sizes ranging from 1 to 10 μm.

Elastic peaks electron spectroscopy (EPES) is a perspective tool for measuring the hydrogen atomic density in hydrocarbons. It is known that hydrogen elastic peaks overlap inelastic energy loss spectra. This fact complicates the quantitative interpretation of EPES spectra. In this paper, a novel technique based on the joint use of EPES and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (PES) is proposed. A key part of the method is the inelastic scattering background subtraction which is performed in two steps. At the first step, differential inelastic scattering cross-sections are retrieved from PES spectra, while at the second step, the retrieved cross-sections are used to remove the inelastic scattering signal from EPES spectra. Both REELS and PES spectra are described on the base of the invariant imbedding method forming a consistent framework for the surface state analysis. A good agreement is obtained between calculated spectra and experimental data.

Thin oxinitride films of Zn-Sn-O-N and Si-Al-O-N were deposited on glass by reactive magnetron sputtering at various nitrogen-to-oxygen ratios. Nitrogen added to oxygen led to decrease of the surface roughness and increase of oleophobic properties studied by the oil-drop test. The best oleophobity was obtained for Zn-Sn-O-N oxinitride at Zn:Sn=1:1 and N:O=1:2. Improved oleophobic properties were also demonstrated if the oxinitride film was deposited on top of the multilayer coating as the final step in the industrial cycle of production of energy efficient glass.

The tungsten samples were pre-irradiated with self-ions to create radiation-induced defects and then exposed to the deuterium atomic beam. The deuterium removal was studied by isotopic exchange with atomic hydrogen beam. Modification of the deuterium depth profile in self-ion irradiated tungsten under isotopic exchange up to a depth of 6 μm was measured in- situ by nuclear reaction analysis. The total deuterium retention after isotopic exchange was measured by thermal desorption spectroscopy. It is shown that the efficiency of the deuterium removal increases with increasing of the hydrogen incident flux, incident energy and temperature of the tungsten sample.

Thermal desorption of deuterium from W was investigated. Virgin samples and samples damaged by 10 MeV C³⁺ ions were implanted from plasma in the LENTA facility at 370 K and 773 K. In comparison with the undamaged sample, deuterium retention in the damaged sample slightly increased in the case of deuterium implantation at RT, but decreased in the case of deuterium implantation at 773 K. At 773 K, deuterium was concluded to diffuse far behind the D ion range in the virgin sample, while C implantation region was concluded to be a barrier for D diffusion in the damaged sample.

Tungsten layers with iron impurity were deposited on tungsten substrates modeling re-deposited layers in a fusion device. The samples were tested by thermocycling and hydrogen ion beam tests. Thermocycling revealed globule formation on the surface. The size of the globules depended on iron impurity content in the coating deposited. Pore formation was observed which in some cases lead to exfoliation of the coatings. Hydrogen ion irradiation lead to formation of blisters on the coating and finally its exfoliation.

Results of DFT calculations of the activation energy for diffusion and vibrational spectra of interstitial hydrogen atoms in the lattice of tungsten are presented. The temperature dependences of the diffusion coefficient are calculated and compared with experimental data.

Effect of zirconium irradiation by 1 keV Ar⁺ ions on hydrogen transport through the surface oxide layer is studied. It is shown that deuterium trapping under subsequent irradiation of the Ar-treated sample by deuterium atoms of thermal energies in D₂ + 30at.% O₂ gas mixture is 2 times less than trapping in the untreated sample. Besides, irradiation of the untreated sample by D-atoms provokes desorption of ≈25% of hydrogen contained therein, whereas hydrogen desorption from the ion-treated zirconium surface does not occur. It is proposed that oxygen depletion of the surface oxide layer, caused by ion bombardment, is a reason of mitigation of the hydrogen transport through this layer in both directions.

Studying of initial steps of unipolar arc ignition process is important for reduction of probability of arcing between the plasma and the wall in thermonuclear devices. Tungsten nano-fuzz surface formed by helium plasma irradiation at high fluences and temperatures is a perfect material for arc ignition. Snowflake-like craters were detected on the fuzzy surfaces after short micro-breakdowns. Such sort of craters have not been observed before on any other metallic surfaces. These specific traces are formed due to unique properties of the fuzz structure. The nano-fuzz could be easily melted and vaporized by micro-breakdown current, due to its porosity and bad thermal conductivity, and formation of low conducting metallic vapour under the cathode spot causes discharge movement to the nearest place. Thus, even low current arc can easily move and leave traces, which could be easily observed by a secondary electron microscope.

TiN coatings were deposited on a new Al super-alloy by magnetron sputtering in argon/nitrogen environment. The deposited layer structure, microhardness, adhesion, corrosion resistance, and fatigue life were investigated and tests demonstrated improved performance of the alloy.

Capillary-Pore Systems (CPS) filled by liquid metals are considered as an alternative solution of materials choice for plasma facing component of tokamak reactor. Tin is viewed as one of the candidates for CPS because it has lower corrosiveness than gallium and lower saturated vapour pressure compared to lithium. The corrosion resistance of Mo, Nb and W in pure liquid tin was investigated. The corrosion tests were carried out in the static isothermal conditions at a temperature up to 1050°C. As a result of the corrosion study, it was found that Mo does not corrode in liquid Sn, as opposed to Nb and is compatible with liquid tin in temperatures of up to approx. 1000°C. This allows considering Mo as an alloy base material of the in-vessel tokamak elements based on liquid tin capillary pore systems.

The paper discusses an analytical model of plasma-chemical etching in planar diode- type reactor. Analytical expressions of etch rate and etch anisotropy were obtained. It is shown that etch anisotropy increases with increasing the ion current and ion energy. At the same time, etch selectivity of processed material decreases as compared with the mask. Etch rate decreases with the distance from the centre axis of the reactor. To decrease the loading effect, it is necessary to reduce the wafer temperature and pressure in the reactor, as well as increase the gas flow rate through the reactor.

The experimental facility for surface analysis by means of middle energy ion scattering (MEIS) is described. Experimental results are compared with SCATTER computer code simulation. The simulation shows the possibility to determine the thickness of very thin redeposited layers of heavy elements by keV energy hydrogen ions scattering spectroscopy.

The paper is devoted to the study of deep reactive ion etching of silicon using diode plasma etcher system with a low-power source. Silicon wafers were etched in a sulfur hexafluoride plasma and sulfur hexafluoride/oxygen plasma. The maximum achieved silicon etch rate was about 2 μm/min. The expediency of using dry reactive ion etching in combination with wet anisotropic etching of silicon for manufacturing of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) was demonstrated.

Studies of thin film materials (TFM) as coatings of tips of pacemaker electrodes implanted into the human heart have been performed. TFM coatings were deposited in vacuum by arc magnetron discharge plasma, by pulsed discharge of "Plasma Focus", and by electron beam evaporation. Simulation of electric charge transfer to the heart in physiological blood- imitator solution and determination of electrochemical properties of the coatings were carried out. TFM of highly developed surface of contact with tissue was produced by argon plasma spraying of titanium powder with subsequent coating by titanium nitride in vacuum arc assisted by Ti ion implantation. The TFM coatings of pacemaker electrode have passed necessary clinical tests and were used in medical practice. They provide low voltage myocardium stimulation thresholds within the required operating time.

The composition and structure of ceramic coatings obtained on Zr-1%Nb alloy by plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) in aqueous electrolyte comprising 2 g/L KOH, 6 g/L NaAlO₂ and 2 g/L Na₂SiO₃ with addition of yttria nanopowder, have been studied. The PEO coatings of thickness ∼⃒20 μm were studied using scanning electron microscopy, X-ray microanalysis and X-ray phase analysis. Additives in the electrolyte of yttria nanopowder allowed stabilizing the high-temperature tetragonal and cubic zirconia in the coating.

At a certain form of broadband source soft X-ray spectrum is expected to achieve selective radiation exposure to one of the elements of a multi-component material Cd_XHg_1-XTe. In this case we can talk about a change of the surface properties of the substance as a result of selective absorption of soft X-rays.

The results of the synthesis of carbon nanostructures at high temperatures using a DC plasma torch are presented. Plasma was generated by introduction of argon, nitrogen and helium into the plasma torch with an anode in the form of an expanding channel. Sustainable modes of the plasma torch operation have been achieved by simultaneous tangential input of a plasma gas with a carbon source. Obtained solid products were studied using electron microscopy, thermogravimetry, Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction to characterize their properties and morphological structures.