Erosion Study of Tungsten Carbide films under 100 keV Kr+ ion irradiation

Tungsten carbide (WC) stands out as a crucial material for exploration in extreme environments due to its resistance to radiation and impressive mechanical strength. Widely utilized in cutting tools, high-wear components, and as a potential contender for plasma-facing material in nuclear reactors, WC's erosion behavior under surrogate irradiations is a subject of investigation. In the present work, WC films were synthesized at two different substrate temperatures of 400 K and 600 K using RF sputtering and were then irradiated with 100 keV Kr1+ ions at a fluence of 1x1017 ions/cm2. The crystalline phases of as deposited WC films were confirmed by glancing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXRD) measurements. Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry (RBS) was employed to determine the thicknesses of pristine samples and the sputtering rate by measuring the difference in the areal densities of the pristine and irradiated films. The erosion rate of both types of films was found to be   1.6 atoms per incident Kr+ ion. These findings contribute to a foundational comprehension of the radiation tolerance behavior of WC thin films, crucial for their performance in the demanding conditions of extreme radiation.