Exploring the role of topography in the sputtering process of tungsten by GyM helium plasma
This work investigates the role of surface topography in the sputtering process of tungsten (W) exposed to helium plasma using the GyM linear device. Surfaces with varying roughness, from sub-nanometer to approximately 1 µ m, and different textures, including random-like and regular configurations,...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Nuclear Fusion |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1741-4326/adc3aa |
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| author | Andrea Uccello Gabriele Alberti Matteo Pedroni Anna Cremona Francesco Ghezzi Miriam Saleh Espedito Vassallo Luigi Bana David Dellasega Matteo Passoni Carlo Tuccari Davide Vavassori Antti Hakola Marcin Rasinski Juri Romazanov the GyM Team |
| author_facet | Andrea Uccello Gabriele Alberti Matteo Pedroni Anna Cremona Francesco Ghezzi Miriam Saleh Espedito Vassallo Luigi Bana David Dellasega Matteo Passoni Carlo Tuccari Davide Vavassori Antti Hakola Marcin Rasinski Juri Romazanov the GyM Team |
| author_sort | Andrea Uccello |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This work investigates the role of surface topography in the sputtering process of tungsten (W) exposed to helium plasma using the GyM linear device. Surfaces with varying roughness, from sub-nanometer to approximately 1 µ m, and different textures, including random-like and regular configurations, were studied. The samples were exposed to helium plasma of GyM at energies ranging from 30 to 350 eV, with a fluence of ${\approx}4.3\times10^{24}$ He ^+ m ^−2 and temperatures well below the bulk W fuzz formation threshold of ≈700 ^∘ C. The interpretation of the experimental results was supported by simulations with the 3D Monte Carlo ERO2.0 code. Analysis with atomic force and scanning electron microscopy revealed that surface topography remained largely unchanged, while a nanoscale undulating surface structure formed on all samples at the highest incident energies. The effective sputtering yield ( $Y_{\mathrm{eff}}$ ) of tungsten, derived from mass and thickness loss data, was consistently lower than predictions from simulations by up to an order of magnitude, likely due to the dynamic retention of helium on the tungsten surface. On the other hand, both experimental results and modelling agree that surface topography’s influence on sputtering can be entirely captured by the average surface inclination angle ( $\delta_{\mathrm{m}}$ ), which unequivocally characterises each specimen, unlike the average roughness ( $R_{\mathrm{a}}$ ). Moreover, $Y_{\mathrm{eff}}$ values from both mass loss data and ERO2.0 simulations as a function of $\delta_{\mathrm{m}}$ align well with a decreasing sigmoid fit function. A reduction of more than 50% was observed when comparing the flat surface to that with the highest $R_{\mathrm{a}}$ , attributed by ERO2.0 to the increasing fraction of sputtered tungsten atoms being deposited on neighbouring surfaces. These findings underscore the importance of accurately calibrating simulation tools against linear plasma device experiments for predicting the lifetime of plasma-facing components in fusion reactors such as ITER and DEMO, emphasising the potential of structured tungsten surfaces to reduce erosion and impurity concentration in the plasma core. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-4170fe95763d4d0b81a0123b0fb984ca |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 0029-5515 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
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| series | Nuclear Fusion |
| spelling | doaj-art-4170fe95763d4d0b81a0123b0fb984ca2025-08-20T01:50:30ZengIOP PublishingNuclear Fusion0029-55152025-01-0165505600610.1088/1741-4326/adc3aaExploring the role of topography in the sputtering process of tungsten by GyM helium plasmaAndrea Uccello0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3044-1715Gabriele Alberti1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9835-5085Matteo Pedroni2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9391-1812Anna Cremona3https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8207-8597Francesco Ghezzi4https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3363-5187Miriam Saleh5https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5825-5012Espedito Vassallo6https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8435-4196Luigi Bana7https://orcid.org/0009-0003-1612-178XDavid Dellasega8https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7389-9307Matteo Passoni9https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7844-3691Carlo Tuccari10https://orcid.org/0009-0004-0144-5455Davide Vavassori11https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1279-3645Antti Hakola12https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1385-1296Marcin Rasinski13https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6277-4421Juri Romazanov14https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9439-786Xthe GyM TeamIstituto per la Scienza e Tecnologia dei Plasmi, CNR , 20125 Milan, ItalyDipartimento di Energia, Politecnico di Milano , 20133 Milan, ItalyIstituto per la Scienza e Tecnologia dei Plasmi, CNR , 20125 Milan, ItalyIstituto per la Scienza e Tecnologia dei Plasmi, CNR , 20125 Milan, ItalyIstituto per la Scienza e Tecnologia dei Plasmi, CNR , 20125 Milan, ItalyIstituto per la Scienza e Tecnologia dei Plasmi, CNR , 20125 Milan, ItalyIstituto per la Scienza e Tecnologia dei Plasmi, CNR , 20125 Milan, ItalyDipartimento di Energia, Politecnico di Milano , 20133 Milan, ItalyIstituto per la Scienza e Tecnologia dei Plasmi, CNR , 20125 Milan, Italy; Dipartimento di Energia, Politecnico di Milano , 20133 Milan, ItalyIstituto per la Scienza e Tecnologia dei Plasmi, CNR , 20125 Milan, Italy; Dipartimento di Energia, Politecnico di Milano , 20133 Milan, ItalyDipartimento di Energia, Politecnico di Milano , 20133 Milan, ItalyDipartimento di Energia, Politecnico di Milano , 20133 Milan, ItalyVTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd , PO Box 1000, Espoo FI-02044 VTT, FinlandForschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Institut für Energie-und Klimaforschung-Plasmaphysik, Partner of the Trilateral Euregio Cluster (TEC) , 52425 Jülich, GermanyForschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Institut für Energie-und Klimaforschung-Plasmaphysik, Partner of the Trilateral Euregio Cluster (TEC) , 52425 Jülich, GermanyThis work investigates the role of surface topography in the sputtering process of tungsten (W) exposed to helium plasma using the GyM linear device. Surfaces with varying roughness, from sub-nanometer to approximately 1 µ m, and different textures, including random-like and regular configurations, were studied. The samples were exposed to helium plasma of GyM at energies ranging from 30 to 350 eV, with a fluence of ${\approx}4.3\times10^{24}$ He ^+ m ^−2 and temperatures well below the bulk W fuzz formation threshold of ≈700 ^∘ C. The interpretation of the experimental results was supported by simulations with the 3D Monte Carlo ERO2.0 code. Analysis with atomic force and scanning electron microscopy revealed that surface topography remained largely unchanged, while a nanoscale undulating surface structure formed on all samples at the highest incident energies. The effective sputtering yield ( $Y_{\mathrm{eff}}$ ) of tungsten, derived from mass and thickness loss data, was consistently lower than predictions from simulations by up to an order of magnitude, likely due to the dynamic retention of helium on the tungsten surface. On the other hand, both experimental results and modelling agree that surface topography’s influence on sputtering can be entirely captured by the average surface inclination angle ( $\delta_{\mathrm{m}}$ ), which unequivocally characterises each specimen, unlike the average roughness ( $R_{\mathrm{a}}$ ). Moreover, $Y_{\mathrm{eff}}$ values from both mass loss data and ERO2.0 simulations as a function of $\delta_{\mathrm{m}}$ align well with a decreasing sigmoid fit function. A reduction of more than 50% was observed when comparing the flat surface to that with the highest $R_{\mathrm{a}}$ , attributed by ERO2.0 to the increasing fraction of sputtered tungsten atoms being deposited on neighbouring surfaces. These findings underscore the importance of accurately calibrating simulation tools against linear plasma device experiments for predicting the lifetime of plasma-facing components in fusion reactors such as ITER and DEMO, emphasising the potential of structured tungsten surfaces to reduce erosion and impurity concentration in the plasma core.https://doi.org/10.1088/1741-4326/adc3aaGyMlinear plasma devicetungstenhelium plasmasputteringtopography |
| spellingShingle | Andrea Uccello Gabriele Alberti Matteo Pedroni Anna Cremona Francesco Ghezzi Miriam Saleh Espedito Vassallo Luigi Bana David Dellasega Matteo Passoni Carlo Tuccari Davide Vavassori Antti Hakola Marcin Rasinski Juri Romazanov the GyM Team Exploring the role of topography in the sputtering process of tungsten by GyM helium plasma Nuclear Fusion GyM linear plasma device tungsten helium plasma sputtering topography |
| title | Exploring the role of topography in the sputtering process of tungsten by GyM helium plasma |
| title_full | Exploring the role of topography in the sputtering process of tungsten by GyM helium plasma |
| title_fullStr | Exploring the role of topography in the sputtering process of tungsten by GyM helium plasma |
| title_full_unstemmed | Exploring the role of topography in the sputtering process of tungsten by GyM helium plasma |
| title_short | Exploring the role of topography in the sputtering process of tungsten by GyM helium plasma |
| title_sort | exploring the role of topography in the sputtering process of tungsten by gym helium plasma |
| topic | GyM linear plasma device tungsten helium plasma sputtering topography |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/1741-4326/adc3aa |
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