Ion-beam induced disordering and onset of amorphization in spinel by defect accumulation
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87131-1116 (United States)
- Los Alamos National Laboratory, MST-4, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545 (United States)
Ion-irradiation induces amorphization in many intermetallics and ceramics, but spinel (MgAl{sub 2}O{sub 4}) is considered a ``radiation resistant`` ceramic. Spinel was irradiated with 1.5 MeV Kr{sup +} at 20 K and observed {ital in} {ital situ} by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The spinel remained crystalline to a high dose of 1{times}10{sup 16} ions/cm{sup 2}, without any evidence of amorphization. Another spinel was preimplanted with Ne (400 keV and 50 keV). The microstructure revealed a still crystalline material with 8 nm interstitial loops. After irradiation with 1.5 MeV Kr{sup +} (20 K), amorphization, a result of cation disordering, initiated at a dose of 1.7{times}10{sup 15} ions/cm{sup 2}. At a dose of 1{times}10{sup 16} ions/cm{sup 2}, the spinel was partially amorphous and the remaining crystalline domains disordered. These results show that spinel can be disordered and that amorphization can be triggered by the introduction of stable defects, followed by ion irradiation at low temperature.
- DOE Contract Number:
- FG03-93ER45498
- OSTI ID:
- 44510
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Materials Research, Vol. 10, Issue 4; Other Information: PBD: Apr 1995
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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