The effects of tungsten's pre-irradiation surface condition on helium-irradiated morphology

Erosion is a serious concern associated with the use of tungsten as a plasma-facing component in fusion reactors. To compare the damage progression, polycrystalline tungsten (PCW) and (110) single crystal tungsten (SCW) samples were prepared with (1) a mechanical polish (MP) with roughness values in the range of 0.018–0.020 μm and (2) an MP and electropolish (MPEP) resulting in roughness values of 0.010–0.020 μm for PCW and 0.003–0.005 μm for SCW samples. Samples were irradiated with 30 keV He+ at 1173 K to fluences between 3 × 1021 and 6 × 1022 He/m2. The morphologies that developed after low-fluence bombardment were different for each type of sample—MP SCW, MPEP SCW, MP PCW, and MPEP PCW. At the highest fluence, the SCW MPEP sample lost significantly more mass and developed a different morphology than the MP SCW sample. The PCW samples developed a similar morphology and had similar mass loss at the highest fluence. Surface preparation can have a significant effect on post-irradiation morphology that should be considered for the design of future fusion reactors such as ITER and DEMO. •Tungsten samples were mechanically polished (MP) or electropolished (EP).•The two preparation methods created different microstructures near the surface.•Helium ion irradiation caused different morphologies on the MP and EP samples.•On certain samples, the preparation influenced the mass lost during irradiation.•Surface preparation may be important for materials in fusion reactors.