Adsorption on insulator materials enhanced by D implantation

Many insulator materials used in ITER are exposed to a gas phase composed of D, T and a plasma with hydrocarbons, Fe and other particles combined with the presence of an intense neutron and gamma radiation field. Some of these materials (Al2O3 and SiO2) are implanted at room temperature with low energy D and H ions in order to simulate some of the DT gas effects. The implantation is characterized using optical absorption and elastic recoil detection analysis (ERDA) techniques. It is observed that ion implantation as well as electron or gamma irradiation increases the surface scattering and the concentration of C and H adsorbed at the surface, suggesting that a radiation-induced surface degradation process is taking place and an increase of the surface adsorption capability. The effect is higher for higher dose implantation and for lower energy.