Plastic deformation of tungsten due to deuterium plasma exposure: Insights from micro-compression tests

Abstract Nanoindentation tests have shown that exposure to deuterium plasma causes a decrease in pop-in load and an increase in hardness of tungsten. In this work, we use micro-compression tests to investigate the plastic deformation and apparent strain hardening of tungsten exposed to deuterium plasma. In comparison with the pillars tested at reference state, the pillars tested after exposure showed an increased apparent strain hardening rate as well as an increased multitude of slip traces, which is attributed to the presence of deuterium. The micro-compression results are in agreement with the nanoindentation study on the pop-in and hardness of tungsten.