The thermal migration of Cs was studied after implanting 800keV 133Cs2+ ions into

sintered samples of TiN at a fluence of 5 x 1015cm−2. Thermal treatments at 1500 to

1650C were performed under a secondary vacuum. Concentration profiles were

determined by 2.5MeV 4He+ elastic back-scattering. The results revealed that the

global mobility of caesium in the host matrix was low compared to xenon and

iodine implanted in the same conditions. Nevertheless, the evolution of caesium

depth profile during thermal treatment presents similarities with that of xenon.

Both species were homogeneously transported towards the surface and the

transport rate increases with the temperature. In comparison, iodine exhibits

singular migration behaviour. Several assumptions were proposed to explain the

better retention of caesium in comparison with both other species. The potential

role played by the oxidation was underlined since even a slight modification of the

surface stoichiometry may modify species mobility. More generally, the apparition

of square-like shapes on the surface of the samples after implantations and thermal

treatments was discussed.

Caesium Isothermal Migration Behaviour in Sintered Titanium Nitride: New Data

and Comparison with Previous Results on Iodine and Xenon. S.Gavarini, R.Bès,

C.Peaucelle, P.Martin, C.Esnouf, N.Toulhoat, S.Cardinal, N.Moncoffre,

A.Malchère, V.Garnier, N.Millard-Pinard, C.Guipponi: Nuclear Instruments and

Methods in Physics Research B, 2009, 267[11], 1942-7