Molybdenum erosion in iodine plasma at hollow cathode conditions

Abstract

In this study, the authors investigate the erosive effects of iodine plasma on molybdenum. By exposing molybdenum samples to three different test cases of iodine vapor, iodine plasma, and argon plasma, the plasma enhancement of erosion was characterized. A roughly exponential behavior with respect to temperature was found in iodine plasma at hollow cathode conditions and erosion rates as high as 70.1 ± 7.7 μm/h. Despite an oxygen content of <1%, evidence of oxidation was found in all test cases. Behavior consistent with preferential oxidation based on grain orientation was found in the iodine test cases.