Optical and electrical degradation of H+ implanted KS-4V quartz glass

KS-4V quartz glass is a candidate material for light detection and ranging (LIDAR) windows in ITER. These windows, in addition to neutron and gamma irradiation, will be subjected to low energy particle bombardment, and may possibly degrade. This has been examined by implanting hydrogen into KS-4V. Implantation severely modifies the optical transmission, producing a monotonic increase in the absorption extending from the IR to the UV region, and increases surface electrical conductivity by many orders of magnitude. The observed optical and electrical degradation is a consequence of oxygen loss due to preferential sputtering or enhanced reduction.