Suppression of sputtering in tungsten fuzz: Interplay of porosity and surface roughness

We present a comprehensive study on the sputtering behavior of tungsten fuzz structures under deuterium and argon ion bombardment using three-dimensional simulations. We employed SDTrimSP-3D to investigate porosity as a predictor for the sputtering behavior, complementary to the well-established effects of surface roughness, with simulations conducted across multiple ion energies ( 500 eV – 2000 eV ) and incidence angles ( 0 ∘ − 85 ∘ ). Fuzz structures were algorithmically generated with varying porosities, and sputter yields were systematically calculated. The findings reveal a universal linear relationship between sputter yield and porosity/volume filling, demonstrating that porosity significantly suppresses sputtering. Importantly, the zero-porosity limit is given by the sputter yield of a rough, but solid surface rather than a flat target. This linear behavior holds consistently across the different ion types and energies for a wide range of incidence angles. When normalized to the rough-surface sputter yield, the slope of the porosity dependence is nearly constant, indicating a common underlying suppression mechanism. The study enhances fundamental understanding of sputtering in porous nanostructures and provides a simple, predictive framework with implications for material design, particularly in nuclear fusion research, where erosion of tungsten fuzz impacts reactor component lifetimes.