A model for electrical degradation of insulators due to ionic bombardment

Insulator materials required for ITER and beyond must operate in a significant radiation field, extending well beyond the first wall. As a result, these materials will be subjected not only to neutron and gamma irradiation, but also to particle bombardment, due mainly to ionization of the residual gas and acceleration of the resulting ions by local electric fields. A systematic study was carried out on the main insulating candidate materials for ITER (Al2O3, SiO2, BeO, and AlN), in order to assess this potential surface degradation issue, and clarify possible mechanisms. Severe surface optical and electrical degradation has previously been reported for these materials bombarded with H+, D+, and He+ ions, at different energies, temperatures, and dose rates, as well as for electron irradiation. In all cases, dramatic degradation has been found and related to loss of oxygen (nitrogen) from the implanted/irradiated zone due to preferential radiolytic anion sputtering. In the work reported here, a model to explain the surface electrical degradation under ion bombardment will be presented. A mathematical expression for the evolution of the surface conductivity with dose of an insulator or extrinsic semiconductor, in which the temperature effect is taken into account is given. This model allows one to obtain the diffusion activation energy of the anion in an interstitial position under an electronic excitation environment. Experimental data for both silica and alumina bombarded with He ions at different temperatures have been fitted. In both cases, the fits obtained from theoretical predictions are in very good agreement with the experimental observations.