Sputtering and codeposition of silicon carbide with deuterium

Due to its excellent thermal properties, silicon carbide is being considered as a possible plasma-facing material for fusion devices. If used as a plasma-facing material, the energetic hydrogen isotope ions and charge-exchanged neutrals escaping from the plasma will sputter the silicon carbide. To assess the tritium inventory problems that will be generated by the use of this material, it is necessary that we know the codeposition properties of the redeposited silicon carbide. To determine the codeposition properties, the deuterium plasma experiment at Sandia National Laboratories in Livermore, California has been used to directly compare the deuterium sputtering and codeposition of silicon carbide with that of graphite. A Penning discharge at a flux of 6×1019 D/m2 and an energy of ≈300 eV was used to sputter silicon and carbon from a pair of 0.05 m diameter silicon carbide disks. The removal rate of deuterium gas from the fixed volume of the system isolated from all other sources and sinks was used to measure the codeposition probability (probability that a hydrogen isotope atom will be removed through codeposition per ion striking the sample surface). A small catcher plate used to capture a fraction of the codeposited film was analyzed using Auger spectroscopy. This analysis showed the film to begin with a high carbon to silicon ratio due to preferential sputtering of the carbon. As the film became thicker, the ratio of the depositing material changed over to the (1:1) value that must eventually be attained.