Morphology and Sputtering of Tungsten Nitrides Coatings Exposed to Deuterium Plasma

Abstract

Processes of sputtering, surface modification and change in the stoichiometric composition of W and WN coatings deposited on stainless steel by cathodic arc evaporation were studied under the influence of low-energy (500 eV/D) deuterium plasma with fluence of (1…4.5)1024 D2 +/m2 at room temperature. The composition of the WN coating changes under the influence of deuterium plasma, its enrichment with tungsten up to 100 % is observed. Results of erosion studies indicated that the sputtering yields for coatings WN and W are ~ 2.410-2 at./ion and to be systematically higher than the published data which were measured for bulk materials.