A plant for studying radiation and thermal desorption of gases from inorganic materials

A high-vacuum plant and methods for studying thermal and radiation-stimulated desorption from solid-state materials are described. Radiation-stimulated desorption was studied using an electron gun with a 1- to 120-keV beam energy, featuring a new technology of power supply units. Partial pressure gages with a sensitivity of up to 10⁻¹³ Pa were used to record mass spectra of residual gases. Results of studying thermal- and radiation-stimulated yields of hydrogen from submicrocrystalline samples of a BT-6 alloy are presented to demonstrate the serviceability of the created procedures.     

Layer-by-Layer Analysis of the Composition of Thin Films by SIMS and Raman Spectroscopy

In this study, thin films were produced by magnetron sputtering NC （nanocrystalline） specimens of titanium saturated in hydrogen and were evaluated by layer-by-layer SIMS （secondary ion mass spectrometry） and Raman spectroscopy. Due to magnetron sputtering, the chemical composition of the films was non-homogeneous and was variable among layers. Moreover, in the deposition of specimens saturated with hydrogen, hydrogen diffused throughout the depth of the film; diffusion, however, was restricted to the area near the film-substrate interface, affecting less than 50% of the thickness of the film.     

Hydrogen absorption by Ti-implanted Zr-1Nb alloy

This paper describes the hydrogenation behavior of Zr-1Nb alloy Ti-implanted by plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII). Hydrogen sorption kinetics of the Ti-modified alloy was investigated under gas-phase hydrogenation at 400 °C for 1 h. The influence of implantation time on the protective properties of the modified layer was shown. The lowest hydrogen absorption as well as the highest hydrogen trapping efficiency was achieved after PIII for 30 min. The main contribution to the reduction of hydrogen permeation is the formation of an oxide layer consisting of mixed TiO₂ and ZrO₂ on the modified surface of the alloy. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) revealed that PIII titanium oxide exists on the surface in the form of TiO₂, which transforms to mixed Ti₂O₃ and TiO₂ after hydrogenation. The thickness of the modified layer increases with implantation time that improves the efficiency of hydrogen trapping. All the absorbed hydrogen is gradually distributed in the modified layer and no hydrides are formed after hydrogenation in Ti-modified Zr-1Nb for 15 and 30 min.