Application of discharge implantation method to measurement of diffusion coefficient of hydrogen isotopes in zirconium

An implantation method based on the glow-discharge of hydrogen gas has been applied to the measurement of diffusion coefficients of protium and tritium in zirconium, and the following results have been obtained in a temperature region from 673K to 873K: D/(cm2/s)=6.91x10-3exp[-(44.5±3.8)/{(RT)/(kJ·mol-1)}] for protium, D/(cm2/s)=3.11x10-3exp[-(43.9±3.1)/{(RT)/(kJ·mol-1)}] for tritium. The diffusion coefficient of tritium in zirconium has been also measured by making use of the usual implantation method based on the nuclear reaction 6Li(n,α)T and the following result has been obtained in a temperature region from 573K to 923K: D/(cm2/s)=6.04x10-3exp[-(46.9±1.2)/{(RT)/(kJ·mol-1)}]. The validity of the present discharge implantation method has been confirmed by comparing the obtained results with each other and with literature values. (author)