Direct Tungsten/Copper Bonding for Divertor Application

Abstract

We carried out a fundamental investigation of a uniaxial direct W-to-Cu bonding at relatively low temperatures in ambient air, which would potentially allow for simple preparation and maintenance of divertor wall components. W/Cu bonds formed at 500◦C with a bonding pressure of 0.1 MPa, but the mechanical interfacial strength was about 1 MPa, significantly lower than the state-of-the-art values for bonding around at 1000◦C in vacuum. Higher degree of interfacial oxidation and atomic interdiffusion were observed for higher bonding temperature, through x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The electrical conductivity across the bonded W/Cu interface, an indicator of thermal conductance, was measured to be lower for higher bonding temperature, presumably due to the interfacial oxidation.