Application of electron stimulated desorption for hydrogen removal from graphite

We have applied an electron stimulated desorption (ESD) technique for hydrogen removal from graphite. Hydrogen was charged into graphite by either absorption or ion implantation. The initial ESD yield was about 0.2 atoms/electron, agreeing with the literature values. The desorption rate decreased with succeeding electron irradiation. However, the desorption continued for a long time and more than half of the total H retention was released after 100 s of irradiation. The desorption rate also increased with the incident electron energy, reaching a maximum at around 850 eV and decreased at higher energies. Thus ESD was found to be effective for hydrogen release from graphite.