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Title: Multi-axial and multi-energy channeling study of disorder evolution in ion-irradiated nickel

Journal Article · · Journal of Nuclear Materials
ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [1];  [1];  [2];  [1]; ORCiD logo [3];  [2]; ORCiD logo [1]
  1. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
  2. Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States)
  3. Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States); Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
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In this study, to better understand defect structure and the evolution of irradiation-induced damage in single crystal Ni, in situ Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy in channeling geometry (RBS/C) is performed along the <100>, <110>, and <211> axes with different probing beam energies. The RBS/C data reveal that damage evolution occurs in three steps. The first step at low doses (up to 0.2 dpa), characterized by a linear increase with dose, is related to the formation of point defects and small clusters. The second step in the intermediate dose range (0.2–1.0 dpa) shows a sublinear increase in disorder to saturation. This sublinear increase is due to the growth of defect clusters resulting from the interaction of irradiation-induced defects with already existing damage from previous ion impacts. The third step at high doses (1.0–32.4 dpa) exhibits a surprising decrease in the disorder level, which may be attributed to defect evolution from black spot defects to large dislocation loops that leads to strain relaxation. In addition, the damage extends much deeper than the predicted depths and is attributed to long-range defect migration effects confirmed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observations. Although similar damage evolution trends have been observed along all channeling directions, the disorder accumulation is largest along the <100> and <211> axes than observed along <110> axis. This “preferential” disordering process along <100> and <211> suggests that more defects are shielded by the <110> atomic rows than the two other axes. Finally, the co-existence of both uncorrelated displaced lattice atoms and dislocation loops in Ni irradiated at 1 ion/nm2 is revealed by the energy-dependent RBS/C studies along all three axes. In contrast, dislocation loops and stacking fault tetrahedral are simultaneously present in the crystal structure of Ni irradiated at 100 ions/nm2 that is consistent with previous molecular dynamics simulations and TEM observations.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-00OR22725
OSTI ID:
1561667
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1703237
Journal Information:
Journal of Nuclear Materials, Vol. 525, Issue C; ISSN 0022-3115
Publisher:
ElsevierCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 8 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

Figures / Tables (10)

Fig. 1(p. 20)figure Fig. 1
Fig. 2(p. 21)figure Fig. 2
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Fig. 5(p. 24)figure Fig. 5
Fig. 6(p. 25)figure Fig. 6
Fig. 7(p. 26)figure Fig. 7
Fig. 8(p. 27)figure Fig. 8
Fig. 9(p. 28)figure Fig. 9
Table 1(p. 29)table Table 1

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Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
Multi-axial and multi-energy RBS/C
Ion irradiation
Damage evolution
Defect structure