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Radiation resistant hydrogen microsensors for fusion applications

Whaley, Josh A.

Quantifying the flux and energy of charge exchange neutrals to the walls of fusion experiments is important to understanding wall erosion and energy balance. Quantification of these fluxes is made much more difficult because they have very strong poloidal and toroidal variations. To facilitate such measurements, we have been developing compact, palladium metal oxide semiconductor (Pd-MOS) detectors. These devices are dosemetric detectors, which can evaluate differences between plasma discharges. To become widely used, however, such detectors must be made resistant to UV and x-ray induced damage, as well as high energy particle bombardment. We report here on the fabrication of Schottky diode Pd-MOS devices in which we have minimized the oxide thickness (to reduce the production of charges from UV and x-rays) and increased the Pd overlayer (to reduce charge production from high energy particles). The fabrication has been facilitated through use of an array of metallic posts to improve the Pd film adhesion. The efficacy of the film adhesion and comparison with standard detectors will be examined. Testing and calibration of the detectors is reported as a function of hydrogen flux and energy.

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Plasma-materials interaction results at Sandia National Laboratories

Kolasinski, Robert K.; Buchenauer, D.A.; Cowgill, D.F.; Karnesky, Richard A.; Whaley, Josh A.; Wampler, William R.

Overview of Plasma Materials Interaction (PMI) activities are: (1) Hydrogen diffusion and trapping in metals - (a) Growth of hydrogen precipitates in tungsten PFCs, (b) Temperature dependence of deuterium retention at displacement damage, (c) D retention in W at elevated temperatures; (2) Permeation - (a) Gas driven permeation results for W/Mo/SiC, (b) Plasma-driven permeation test stand for TPE; and (3) Surface studies - (a) H-sensor development, (b) Adsorption of oxygen and hydrogen on beryllium surfaces.

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The impact of specific surface area on the retention of deuterium in carbon fiber composite materials

Fusion Engineering and Design

Kolasinski, Robert K.; Umstadter, K.R.; Sharpe, J.P.; Causey, Rion A.; Pawelko, R.J.; Whaley, Josh A.; Buchenauer, D.A.; Shimada, M.

In this study, the PISCES-A linear plasma instrument has been used to characterize retention in several carbon fiber composites in order to better understand the factors which lead to elevated retention levels in these materials. The PISCES instrument is capable of subjecting materials to intense fluxes (up to 1022 m-2 s-1) of low energy (150 eV) D+ ions, producing conditions similar to those encountered by plasma facing components in a fusion reactor. In this investigation, three CFCs (fabricated with different manufacturing processes) are compared with the N11 composite used in the Tore Supra reactor. The specific surface areas for these materials were within the range of 0.14-0.55 m2/g. The plasma bombardment conditions were adjusted to provide doses on the order of 1025-1026 m-2 at a sample temperature of 200 °C. After removal from PISCES-A, the amount of D retained in the sample surface was determined via thermal desorption spectroscopy. The measured retention showed a strong correlation with the type of material used and the corresponding BET surface area. By using a CFC with a lower internal porosity, one could expect a reduction in retention by a factor of 5 or more. © 2008 Elsevier B.V.

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Divertor and midplane materials evaluation system in DIII-D

Journal of Nuclear Materials

Wong, C.P.C.; Rudakov, D.L.; Allain, J.P.; Bastasz, Robert J.; Brooks, N.H.; Brooks, J.N.; Doerner, R.P.; Evans, T.E.; Hassanein, A.; Jacob, W.; Krieger, K.; Litnovsky, A.; McLean, A.G.; Philipps, V.; Pigarov, A.Y.; Wampler, W.R.; Watkins, J.G.; West, W.P.; Whaley, Josh A.; Wienhold, P.

The Divertor Materials Evaluation System (DiMES) at General Atomics has successfully advanced the understanding of plasma surface interaction phenomena involving ITER-relevant materials and has been utilized for advanced diagnostic designs in the lower divertor of DIII-D. This paper describes a series of recent successful experiments. These include the study of carbon deposition in gaps and metallic mirrors as a function of temperature, study of dust migration from the divertor, study of methane injection in order to benchmark chemical sputtering diagnostics, and the measurement of charge exchange neutrals with a hydrogen sensor. In concert with the modification of the lower divertor of DIII-D, the DiMES sample vertical location was modified to match the raised divertor floor. The new Mid-plane Material Exposure Sample (MiMES) design will also be presented. MiMES will allow the study and measurement of erosion and redeposition of material at the outboard mid-plane of DIII-D, including effects from convective transport. We will continue to expose relevant materials and advanced diagnostics to different plasma configurations under various operational regimes, including material erosion and redeposition experiments, and gaps and mirror exposures at elevated temperature. © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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Recoil energy distribution of hydrogen isotopes adsorbed on tungsten

Proposed for publication in Journal of Nuclear Materials.

Bastasz, Robert J.; Whaley, Josh A.

The energies of adsorbed H and D recoiled from tungsten surfaces during bombardment with 3 keV Ne{sup +} at oblique angles of incidence were measured. The energy spectra show structure that extends above the elastic recoil energy. We find that the high-energy structure results from multiple collisions, namely recoil of a H isotope followed by scattering from an adjacent W atom, and vice versa. This scattering assisted recoil process is especially prevalent for H isotopes adsorbed on W, owing to the large mass difference between the scattering partners. Such processes will tend to enhance H isotope recycling from plasma-facing W surfaces and reduce energy transfer to the W substrate.

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Results 76–89 of 89
Results 76–89 of 89