*2.3.2.2 Motorized sample holder for operation at high temperatures*

A water-cooled motorized ferrofluid feedthrough has been chosen with its rotation controller for installation in the specific irradiation chamber of the beam degrader. The controller is able to maintain constant rotation at 1000 rpm and to stop the wheel in the open-blade position to avoid foil damage. The steel vacuum chamber has been designed and manufactured to house properly the degrader wheel, the sample holder itself, and its diagnostics (**Figure 4a**). The necessary set of vacuum pumps and gauges for the degrader chamber has been also installed in the line. Proper butterfly and venting valves were also installed in the vacuum chamber to avoid foil damage during the first stages of chamber air evacuation and venting.

### **Figure 4.**

*(a) Vacuum chamber, (b) sample holder oven operating in vacuum at 450°C and (c) vacuum chamber inner view with the degrader wheel and powered sample holder.*

**25**

**Figure 5.**

*Ion Beam Experiments to Emulate Nuclear Fusion Environment on Structural Materials…*

The vacuum chamber includes a sample holder with an oven specially designed to operate at controlled temperature in the range between room temperature (RT) and 600°C (**Figure 4b**) and also it is equipped with an XYZ motorized sample holder

Several irradiation experiments have been performed using the beam energy degrader. Cu, Fe, and steel samples have been irradiated with H and He ions (current ~ 1 μA) with an energy of 2.25 and 9 MeV, respectively, obtaining implantation profiles with good uniformity from the surface up to 22 μm depth for both ions. This is especially interesting as it is therefore possible to implant both chemical species in the same sample volume. **Figure 5a** shows a SEM cross section of EUROFER97 steel sample implanted with 9 MeV He through a beam degrader with aluminum foils with a thickness from 6 to 50 μm. The implanted sample was etched with Marble's reagent (CuSO4 hydrochloric acid and water) to exhibit the fringes of implanted He. The simulated profile calculated by stopping and range of ions in matter (SRIM) showed great similarities with the real one. Some other experiments have been developed with thinner aluminum foils (0.8–3 μm) and Fe ions with different energies on Fe samples. **Figure 5b** presents the SRIM calculation of the implantation profile of 6 MeV Fe ions on a Fe sample with an average current of 200 nA of Fe2+ ions using the degrader device.

Consecutive triple irradiation (Fe, He, H) at temperatures of interest for fusion research (350–550°C) is also available with the experimental setup described in this section, which may be a way to get the nuclear fusion condition with only one accelerator instead of having three of them [29, 30]. To emulate the effects of neutron irradiation, it is therefore possible to irradiate an Fe or steel sample with 20 MeV Fe4+ ions with the degrader wheel stopped at the open window (no energy reduction) to obtain a region damaged by Fe ions from the surface up to 2 μm (most Fe ions will stop in the 2–3 μm range generating too many interstitials for a realistic

or He+

degrader wheel spinning with the thinnest foils mounted (0.8–6 μm) and an energy

The new vacuum chamber and the beam energy degrader mounted on the implantation line of CMAM irradiation facility also allow the implementation

*(a) SEM cross section view of the 9 MeV He irradiation profile on EUROFER97 steel with SRIM simulation and (b) SRIM implantation profile of 6 MeV Fe ions on Fe sample using the thin foil (0.8–3 μm) energy degrader.*

ions can take place with the

). This procedure would allow to obtain a damaged

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87054*

for multi-sample experiments (**Figure 4c**).

analysis). After that an irradiation with H<sup>+</sup>

) and 2 MeV (He<sup>+</sup>

region uniformly implanted with H and/or He.

*2.3.2.3 Mini-tensile machine for straining samples under irradiation*

of 1 MeV (H+

*Ion Beam Experiments to Emulate Nuclear Fusion Environment on Structural Materials… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87054*

The vacuum chamber includes a sample holder with an oven specially designed to operate at controlled temperature in the range between room temperature (RT) and 600°C (**Figure 4b**) and also it is equipped with an XYZ motorized sample holder for multi-sample experiments (**Figure 4c**).

Several irradiation experiments have been performed using the beam energy degrader. Cu, Fe, and steel samples have been irradiated with H and He ions (current ~ 1 μA) with an energy of 2.25 and 9 MeV, respectively, obtaining implantation profiles with good uniformity from the surface up to 22 μm depth for both ions. This is especially interesting as it is therefore possible to implant both chemical species in the same sample volume. **Figure 5a** shows a SEM cross section of EUROFER97 steel sample implanted with 9 MeV He through a beam degrader with aluminum foils with a thickness from 6 to 50 μm. The implanted sample was etched with Marble's reagent (CuSO4 hydrochloric acid and water) to exhibit the fringes of implanted He. The simulated profile calculated by stopping and range of ions in matter (SRIM) showed great similarities with the real one. Some other experiments have been developed with thinner aluminum foils (0.8–3 μm) and Fe ions with different energies on Fe samples. **Figure 5b** presents the SRIM calculation of the implantation profile of 6 MeV Fe ions on a Fe sample with an average current of 200 nA of Fe2+ ions using the degrader device.

Consecutive triple irradiation (Fe, He, H) at temperatures of interest for fusion research (350–550°C) is also available with the experimental setup described in this section, which may be a way to get the nuclear fusion condition with only one accelerator instead of having three of them [29, 30]. To emulate the effects of neutron irradiation, it is therefore possible to irradiate an Fe or steel sample with 20 MeV Fe4+ ions with the degrader wheel stopped at the open window (no energy reduction) to obtain a region damaged by Fe ions from the surface up to 2 μm (most Fe ions will stop in the 2–3 μm range generating too many interstitials for a realistic analysis). After that an irradiation with H<sup>+</sup> or He+ ions can take place with the degrader wheel spinning with the thinnest foils mounted (0.8–6 μm) and an energy of 1 MeV (H+ ) and 2 MeV (He<sup>+</sup> ). This procedure would allow to obtain a damaged region uniformly implanted with H and/or He.

### *2.3.2.3 Mini-tensile machine for straining samples under irradiation*

The new vacuum chamber and the beam energy degrader mounted on the implantation line of CMAM irradiation facility also allow the implementation

### **Figure 5.**

*(a) SEM cross section view of the 9 MeV He irradiation profile on EUROFER97 steel with SRIM simulation and (b) SRIM implantation profile of 6 MeV Fe ions on Fe sample using the thin foil (0.8–3 μm) energy degrader.*

*Ion Beam Techniques and Applications*

*2.3.2.2 Motorized sample holder for operation at high temperatures*

A water-cooled motorized ferrofluid feedthrough has been chosen with its rotation controller for installation in the specific irradiation chamber of the beam degrader. The controller is able to maintain constant rotation at 1000 rpm and to stop the wheel in the open-blade position to avoid foil damage. The steel vacuum chamber has been designed and manufactured to house properly the degrader wheel, the sample holder itself, and its diagnostics (**Figure 4a**). The necessary set of vacuum pumps and gauges for the degrader chamber has been also installed in the line. Proper butterfly and venting valves were also installed in the vacuum chamber to avoid foil damage during the first stages of chamber air evacuation and venting.

*(a) Vacuum chamber, (b) sample holder oven operating in vacuum at 450°C and (c) vacuum chamber inner* 

**24**

**Figure 4.**

*view with the degrader wheel and powered sample holder.*

of innovative techniques for material research. In this case we have installed a microtensile test module (**Figure 6**) inside the vacuum chamber in order to carry out mechanical strain/stress tests of materials under irradiation or irradiate structural materials (Fe, Cu, steel), while the sample is submitted to a constant stress. The chamber base shown above and holding the XYZ sample holder can be easily changed by a new one with the microtensile module installed and connected with the proper Fischer feedthrough. Especial connectors are also incorporated for temperature measurements (thermocouple and oven) during the tests.
