Deuterium retention and surface modifications of nanocrystalline tungsten films exposed to high-flux plasma

•The films withstand the intense plasma exposure maintaining overall integrity.•An increase of deuterium retention was observed with decreasing tungsten density.•Formation of micrometer-sized blisters as well as structures on the nanometer scale depending on the layer type. Deuterium retention studies are presented for nanostructured tungsten films exposed to high-flux deuterium plasmas. Thin tungsten films of ∼1μm thickness were deposited with pulsed laser deposition (PLD) on bulk tungsten. Surface modifications were studied with scanning electron microscopy and deuterium retention with thermal desorption spectroscopy. Three types of PLD films with different densities and crystallinity were studied after exposure to deuterium plasmas. The surface temperature ranged from about 460K at the periphery to about 520K in the centre of the targets. The films withstand the intense plasma exposure well and maintain their overall integrity. An increase of deuterium retention is observed with decreasing tungsten density and crystallite size. We found that the filling of these thin films with deuterium is significantly faster than for pre-damaged polycrystalline tungsten. We observed formation of micrometer-sized blisters as well as structures on the nanometer scale, both depending on the layer type.