TEM analysis of high temperature annealed W nanostructure surfaces

Highlights: ► Helium plasma irradiation to tungsten led to the formation of nanostructures on the surface. ► The nanostructures were annihilated when electrons irradiated the sample without ion irradiation. ► The specimens were analyzed by transmission electron microscope. ► The helium nano-bubbles still remained even after the nanostructures were disappeared from the surface. - Abstract: Helium plasma irradiation and electron heating experiments were conducted using tungsten in the divertor simulator NAGDIS-II. Helium plasma irradiation to tungsten led to the formation of nanostructures on the surface, while the nanostructures were annihilated after the potential of the specimen was changed to positive for several 10 min so that electrons irradiated the sample without ion irradiation. The specimens were analyzed in detail by transmission electron microscope with the help of focused ion beam technique. It is revealed that the helium nano-bubbles still remained even after the nanostructures were disappeared from the surface. Porosity of the nanostructured tungsten was measured from the TEM images.