Effects of ion sputtering on plutonium surfaces

JOURNAL OF NUCLEAR MATERIALS

卷:540

Article

Beaux, Miles F.¹  Joyce, Stephen A.¹  Usov, Igor O.¹ 

[1] Los Alamos Natl Lab, POB 1663, Los Alamos, NM 87545 USA

关键词: Scanning tunneling microscopy;    Plutonium;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.jnucmat.2020.152378

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

Scanning tunneling microscopy has been performed on an electro-polished gallium-stabilized delta-phase plutonium sample under ultra-high vacuum conditions. The images obtained were used to measure surface roughness as ion sputtering and annealing was applied to the plutonium sample. It was demonstrated that sputter/anneal cycles progressively increased the surface roughness of the plutonium. Additionally, Auger and scanning tunneling spectroscopy measurements revealed an initially unstable and dynamically changing surface that became increasingly stable as sputter/anneal cycles were applied. The stabilized surface region contained within the sputter crater was observed to be unchanged for up to 17 months after the final sputter anneal cycle. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

【 授权许可】

Free