Simulations of hydrogen outgassing and sticking coefficients at a copper electrode surface: Dependencies on temperature, incident angle and energy

Outgassing remains a pertinent issue as it typically is the first stage of possible plasma formation, and can lead to effects such as breakdown, surface flashover, and pulse shortening in high power systems. Here two pertinent aspects are probed: (i) a model-based assessment of outgassing and associated temperature-dependent rates from a copper electrode based on molecular dynamics simulations, and (ii) calculations for the sticking coefficients of hydrogen gas atoms as a function of incident energy and angle. Our results of temperature dependent diffusion coefficients for hydrogen in copper, agree well with experimental reports over a wide range from 300 to 1350 K, and show reduction in the presence of vacancies. Results also show low reflection coefficients at both high and low energies, with a maxima at around 6.5 eV. A curve fit to the data is predicted to roughly hold for a range of incident angles. Adsorption is predicted to occur for incident energies below 10 eV, with absorption dominating above 10 eV.