Effects of size of an oxide layer on the surface properties of lithium irradiated by deuterium plasma

TL;DR

This study explores how the thickness of oxide layers on lithium surfaces affects deuterium interaction, which is crucial for optimizing plasma-facing materials in fusion reactors.

Contribution

It introduces the impact of oxide layer size on lithium's surface properties and proposes a method to measure oxide thickness via deuterium reflection.

Findings

Oxide layer growth influences deuterium recycling.

Reflection probability of deuterium correlates with oxide thickness.

Potential for non-invasive oxide thickness measurement.

Abstract

We investigate how growth of an oxide film will influence the deuterium recycling properties of Li on plasma facing surfaces. Lithium films on the walls or plasma-facing material surfaces of a fusion vacuum vessel improves plasma performance in part by removing residual impurity atoms from the plasma. Oxygen atoms, from residual water vapor or eroded oxide surfaces, are a prominent ubiquitous impurity that can create a layer of oxide on lithium films. The results of the work herein also indicate a possibility for determining the thickness of the oxide layer on such Li films by measuring the reflection probability of incident deuterium particles from the surface.