Dynamics of small mobile helium clusters near tungsten surfaces

We report the results of a systematic atomic-scale analysis of the dynamics of small mobile helium clusters in tungsten, near tungsten surfaces. These helium clusters are attracted to tungsten surfaces due to an elastic interaction force that drives surface segregation. As the clusters migrate toward the surface, trap mutation and cluster dissociation are activated at rates higher than in the bulk. These kinetic processes are responsible for important structural, morphological, and compositional features in plasma-exposed tungsten, including surface adatoms, near-surface immobile helium–vacancy complexes, and retained helium content. Detailed results are presented for di-helium and tri-helium clusters near low-Miller-index tungsten surfaces.