An ion beam technique for the measurement of deuterium diffusion coefficients

Abstract

This letter describes how a combination of the techniques of nuclear microanalysis and cathodic hydrogenation has been used to determine the diffusion coefficient of dueterium in austenitic stainless steel at room temperature. Samples charged in deuterated acid solutions to levels of about 20 at. % deuterium were quickly transferred to a scattering chamber where a depth profile of the near‐surface deuterium was measured. For charging times much longer than the transfer plus anlyzing time, the deuterium profile could be described by an error function at the specimen surface. A diffusion coefficient was determined by a χ‐squared test fitting procedure and shown to be consistent with values reported for other methods measured at higher temperatures.