Hydrogen and deuterium depth profiles in a barium surface converter determined by LAMS and P-SNMS

Abstract Both by laser ablation mass spectrometry (LAMS) and plasma secondary neutral mass spectrometry (P-SNMS) we have determined the relative concentration of hydrogen as a function of depth in a technical barium surface in situ. Both experimental methods used yield similar concentration profiles. The build-up of this hydrogen concentration is in agreement with model calculations. The non-linear influence of the positive ion fluence on the concentration profiles is also found in the measurements. Deuterium concentration profiles have been determined, where the penetration depth is found to be one order of magnitude smaller than the hydrogen penetration depth under similar conditions. This can be attributed to a different diffusion coefficient for deuterium in barium compared to hydrogen in barium.