Plasma treated metals after H- irradiation and its effect on vacuum breakdown behavior

Vacuum breakdown in accelerator structures is a critical challenge that occurs under high electric fields. In environments subjected to hydrogen ion irradiation or high beam losses, such as in radio-frequency quadrupoles, residual hydrocarbons from the vacuum may result in carbon contamination of the metal surfaces from charged particle induced cracking. Under these conditions, it has been assessed that surface carbon contamination leads to a decrement of the surface electric field holding properties. This study extends the latest research by exploring the efficacy of oxygen plasma cleaning (OPC) on metal electrodes irradiated by low-energy hydrogen ion beam with the purpose of reducing surface carbon contamination. OPC treatment has been employed on different metals, namely, copper beryllium (CuBe2), oxygen-free copper (Cu-OFE), and stainless steel (SS316LN). Treated electrodes have been tested for electric field performance in a dc pulsed system and results compared with nonirradiated electrodes and irradiated ones without OPC treatment. The study indicates a significant reduction in carbon contamination by OPC, enough to allow irradiated materials to achieve performances comparable with the electric field strength of raw surfaces. Moreover, it has been observed that stainless steel samples had some alteration on the surface chemistry that enhanced the material’s ability to sustain high electric fields while decreasing vacuum arcing events. Notably, OPC treated SS316LN electrodes surpassed the performance value of untreated ones, demonstrating the potential of plasma treatments in extending the operational performance of accelerator components.