Functionally graded vacuum plasma sprayed and magnetron sputtered tungsten/EUROFER97 interlayers for joints in helium-cooled divertor components

Two coating technologies, magnetron sputtering and vacuum plasma spraying, have been investigated for their capability in producing functionally graded tungsten/EUROFER97 layers. In a first step, non-graded layers with different mixing ratios were deposited on tungsten substrates and characterized by nanoindentation, macroindentation, X-ray diffraction, transmission, Auger and scanning electron microscopy. The thermal stability of the sprayed layers against heat treatments at 800–1100 °C for 60 min was further analyzed. In a second step, the produced functionally graded layers deposited on tungsten substrates were joined to EUROFER97 bulk-material by diffusion bonding. The bonding and the graded joints were microscopically characterized and exposed to thermal cycles between 20 °C and 650 °C. Results from this study show that both coating technologies are ideal for the synthesis of functionally graded tungsten/EUROFER97 coatings. This is important in providing insights for future development of joints with functionally graded interlayers.