Deuterium retention near surface of TiO2 by low-voltage D2 plasma discharge

We have investigated deuterium (D) uptake in TiO2 (rutile) films under exposure of low-energy D-2(+) ions and thermal release of D from TiO2 films. The amount of deuterium in the films was analysed by means of nuclear reaction analysis D(He-3, alpha)p. D-uptake under AC-glow discharge in D-2 pressure of similar to 90 Pa is compared with that under DC-discharge with well-defined energy of D-2(+) ions in D-2 pressure of similar to 0.1 Pa. The results imply that the effective energy of D-2(+) ions in AC-glow discharge is much lower than the energy derived from the applied voltage. The results are also compared with those for Ti sheet exposed to low-energy D-2(+) ions. We find that D-release temperature from TiO2 is considerably lower than from Ti, though D-uptake in TiO2 is smaller than in Ti. (C) 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.