Multi-technique coupling for analysis of deuterium retention in carbon fiber composite NB31

This paper presents an extensive set of measurements from complementary surface analysis techniques performed for characterizing deuterium retention in carbon fiber composite Sepcarb^®NB31 subsequently to a deuterium beam exposition: adsorption isotherm measurements and Hg porosimetry to characterize the porous network, coupled deuterium beam exposure and in situ µ-NRA analysis to follow the dynamics of the penetration of the retained deuterium in the material, TEM and Raman microscopy to investigate the change in the material structure induced by ion irradiation, and finally TPD to estimate the respective proportion of deuterium retained in the surface layer and in the bulk material. The parameters extracted from this set of characterizations are introduced in a 2D Monte Carlo model which couples the propagation of deuterium and eroded carbon atoms in a network of rectilinear pores and plasma–surface interaction parameters from the SRIM code. The simulations reproduce satisfactorily the main features of the measured deuterium concentration profile and behavior of the retained deuterium amount with incident fluence, validating the physical picture of deuterium retention in CFC as due to the simultaneous implantation of the incident ions in the few 10-nm-depth layer the closest to the surface and penetration of atoms deeper in the material (several tens of microns) through the pore network.