Damage induced by electronic excitation in ion-irradiated yttria-stabilized zirconia

Journal Article · Thu Jan 15 00:00:00 EST 2009 · Journal of Applied Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3066279· OSTI ID:21185982

Moll, S; Thome, L; Vincent, L; Garrido, F ^[1]; Sattonnay, G ^[2]; Thome, T ^[3]; Jagielski, J ^[4]; Costantini, J M ^[5]

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1. Centre de Spectrometrie Nucleaire et de Spectrometrie de Masse, CNRS-IN2P3-Universite Paris Sud, UMR 8609, Bat. 108, 91405 Orsay (France)
2. LEMHE/ICMMO, Universite Paris Sud, UMR 8182, Bat. 410, 91405 Orsay (France)
3. PSA Peugeot Citroeen, Centre Technique Velizy A, 78943 Velizy-Villacoublay Cedex (France)
4. Institute for Electronic Materials Technology, Wolczynska 133, 01-919 Warsaw (Poland) and Andrzej Soltan Institute for Nuclear Studies, 05-400 Swierk/Otwock (Poland)
5. CEA-Saclay, DMN/SRMA, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex (France)

This article presents a study of the damage production in yttria-stabilized cubic zirconia single crystals irradiated with swift heavy ions. The combination of techniques which probe the material at different spatial scales (Rutherford backscattering spectrometry in channeling geometry, x-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy) was used in order to gain information about the damage depth distribution, the disordering buildup, the nature of radiation defects, and the occurrence of microstructural modifications. The damage results from the formation of tracks, due to the huge electronic excitations induced in the wake of incident ions. The melting of the material in the core of tracks, via a thermal spike mechanism, leads to the creation of large hillocks at the surface of the crystals. The overlapping of ion tracks at high fluence (above {approx}10{sup 12} cm{sup -2}) induces a severe transformation of the microstructure of the material. Nanodomains slightly disoriented from the main crystallographic direction are formed, with a size decreasing with increasing irradiation fluence. These results may be used to predict the damage evolution in other nonamorphizable ceramics irradiated with swift heavy ions.

• OSTI ID: 21185982
• Journal Information: Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 105, Issue 2; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.3066279; (c) 2009 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0021-8979
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
ATOMIC FORCE MICROSCOPY
CERAMICS
CRYSTAL DEFECTS
CRYSTALLOGRAPHY
EXCITATION
HEAVY IONS
ION BEAMS
IRRADIATION
MELTING
MICROSTRUCTURE
MONOCRYSTALS
RUTHERFORD BACKSCATTERING SPECTROSCOPY
SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION
THERMAL SPIKES
TRANSMISSION ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
X-RAY DIFFRACTION
YTTRIUM OXIDES
ZIRCONIUM OXIDES