).An improved quartz crystal microbalance measurement method is described, which allows us to determine erosion, implantation, and release rates of thin films, during changing temperatures and up to 700 K. A quasi-simultaneous excitation of two eigenmodes of the quartz resonator is able to compensate for frequency drifts due to temperature changes. The necessary electronics, the controlling behavior, and the dual-mode temperature compensation are described. With this improved technique, quantitative in situ temperature-programmed desorption measurements are possible and the quartz crystal microbalance can be used for quantification of thermal desorption spectroscopy measurements with a quadrupole mass spectrometer. This is demonstrated by a study of the retention and release behavior of hydrogen isotopes in fusion-relevant materials. We find that more than 90% of the deuterium implanted into a thin film of beryllium is released during a subsequent temperature ramp up to 500 K.
Corresponding author: F. Aumayr (aumayr).
Users with online access to Review of Scientific Instruments can load the article from the publisher.