Observations on 3He release from ErT2 films
- Thomas J.
- Jane
We have loaded thin (500nm) films of erbium to a stoichiometry of ErT{sub 2}, and have been observing their {sup 3}He release characteristics. The films are stored in vacuum-tight metal vessels and the headspace helium is analyzed after accumulation for times ranging from a day to several months. Analysis is performed with very high sensitivity using a static noble gas mass spectrometer. For the first several years, {sup 3}He release is a fairly constant function of helium generation, and does not depend on the substrate or the amount of helium accumulated in the film. We find a somewhat higher helium release (up to 3%) at very early times, decreasing over 6 months to a fairly consistent value (0.8%). This observation is consistent with a bubble nucleation and growth mechanism. The very early release behavior does not appear to be dependent upon the presence or growth of surface oxide layers. We also observed that, despite the very low vapor pressure of ErT{sub 2}, our vacuum system became contaminated with low levels of tritium, representing perhaps a few ppm of the tritium in a sample.
- Research Organization:
- Los Alamos National Laboratory
- Sponsoring Organization:
- DOE
- OSTI ID:
- 977847
- Report Number(s):
- LA-UR-04-6280
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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