Experimental techniques for the investigation of the electron screening effect for d+d fusion reactions in metallic environments

Experimental studies of the fusion reactions H-2(d,p)H-3 and H-2(d,n)He-3 have shown that the reaction rates on deuterons implanted into metals (Al,Zr,Ta,Pd) are strongly enhanced compared to gas target experiments. The deduced screening energy values are about one order of magnitude larger and exceed significantly the theoretical predictions. The development of the implantation density and the deposition of carbon and oxide layers on the target surface are of crucial importance in order to investigate the screening effect correctly.