H PROCESSING OF COPPER SURFACES

Changes in the crystallographic structure of polycrystalline copper surface to the atomic hydrogen treatment are described. Samples of polycrystalline OFHC copper plates were exposed to a flux of thermal hydrogen atoms with the density between 1 x 10(21) atoms/m2s and 1 X 10(23) atoms/m2s. Hydrogen atoms partially accommodate and recombine in the potential well on the surface. During these processes copper atoms on the surface displace, which leads to a recrystallization of the samples. The effects were investigated by a scanning electron microscope (SEM).