Behavior of tritium diffusion and permeating through Al2O3 film coated on the 316L stainless steel

An Al2O3 film of 2-3 μm thickness was coated on the surface of the 316L stainless steel by magnetic control sputtering method. Experiments show that this film is compatible with the bulk material, and is resistant to oxidation, thermal shock and irradiation, and is less active, thus can be used at high temperature. The permeability of tritium through it is 4-6 orders of magnitude lower than that through the bulk material within 604-773 K. This material can be coated on the surface of stainless steel containers used for tritium production, tritium separation and purification at high temperature. It can also be used as the clad material for tritium production targets in the tritium technology of fusion reactors