Deuterium retention in W and binary W alloys irradiated with high energy Fe ions

To investigate systematically the effects of Re and other elements on deuterium (D) retention, W and binary W-alloys (Re, Mo and Ta) were irradiated with 6.4 MeV Fe ions at high temperatures (1073–1273 K) and then exposed to D2 gas at 673 K. Depth profiles of D were measured by nuclear reaction analysis (NRA), and D retention was determined by thermal desorption spectrometry (TDS) and NRA. The addition of 5 at.% Re into W reduced the content of D trapped at radiation-induced defects created by irradiation with the Fe ions at 1273 K to the peak damage level of 5 displacements per atom (dpa). At Re fractions of 1, 3 and 5 at.%, comparable effects on D retention were observed after irradiation to 0.5 dpa at 1073 K. The addition of Mo and Ta to W resulted in no visible effects in D retention.