Effect of the Surface Roughness of Tungsten on the Sputtering Yield under Helium Irradiation: A Molecular Dynamics Study

Abstract

Sputtering in a divertor is one of the key phenomena that affects plasma purity and temperature. In previous experimental studies, the term sputtering yield has been used to refer to net sputtering yield, which is defined as the difference between primary sputtering yield and re-deposition. Our simulations using molecular dynamics have confirmed that both primary sputtering yield and re-deposition are affected by particle curvature. In this study, the effect of particle curvature on the net sputtering yield was quantitatively evaluated, the results were compared to existing experimental studies, and the discrepancies with experimental results were discussed.

Keywords

• tungsten
• fusion reactor divertor
• molecular dynamics