Proof-of-Concept Modeling for the Use of Neutron Reflectometry for the In-Situ Diagnosis of Deuterium Accumulation in Tungsten and Dispersion-Strengthened Tungsten Alloys

The diagnosis of plasma-facing components in a fusion environment is challenging due to the limited number of measurement techniques that have been developed for in situ surface analysis. In this work, we assess the feasibility of using neutron reflectometry (NR) for the in situ diagnosis of deuterium accumulation in tungsten and dispersion-strengthened tungsten alloys. TRIM is used to simulate deuterium implantation at different energies to approximate the deuterium depth profiles in these materials in order to calculate the expected measurements from NR for various fluences. Our results suggest that NR should be an effective technique for testing hypotheses about the surface composition of materials under fusion-relevant fluences of deuterium irradiation.