Visualization of ultrafast melting initiated from radiation-driven defects in solids
Abstract
Materials exposed to extreme radiation environments such as fusion reactors or deep spaces accumulate substantial defect populations that alter their properties and subsequently the melting behavior. The quantitative characterization requires visualization with femtosecond temporal resolution on the atomic-scale length through measurements of the pair correlation function. Here, we demonstrate experimentally that electron diffraction at relativistic energies opens a new approach for studies of melting kinetics. Our measurements in radiation-damaged tungsten show that the tungsten target subjected to 10 displacements per atom of damage undergoes a melting transition below the melting temperature. Two-temperature molecular dynamics simulations reveal the crucial role of defect clusters, particularly nanovoids, in driving the ultrafast melting process observed on the time scale of less than 10 ps. These results provide new atomic-level insights into the ultrafast melting processes of materials in extreme environments.
- Authors:
-
- SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States)
- Lancaster Univ., Lancaster (United Kingdom)
- Imperial College London, London (United Kingdom); Univ. Paris Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette (France)
- Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States); Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1532401
- Alternate Identifier(s):
- OSTI ID: 1532727
- Report Number(s):
- LA-UR-19-23684
Journal ID: ISSN 2375-2548
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC02-76SF00515; EP/R006288/1; EP/R0029431; FWP #100182; 89233218CNA000001
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Science Advances
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 5; Journal Issue: 5; Journal ID: ISSN 2375-2548
- Publisher:
- AAAS
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 36 MATERIALS SCIENCE; Material Science
Citation Formats
Mo, Mianzhen, Murphy, Samuel, Chen, Zhijiang, Fossati, Paul, Li, Renkai, Wang, Yongqiang, Wang, Xijie, and Glenzer, Siegfried. Visualization of ultrafast melting initiated from radiation-driven defects in solids. United States: N. p., 2019.
Web. doi:10.1126/sciadv.aaw0392.
Mo, Mianzhen, Murphy, Samuel, Chen, Zhijiang, Fossati, Paul, Li, Renkai, Wang, Yongqiang, Wang, Xijie, & Glenzer, Siegfried. Visualization of ultrafast melting initiated from radiation-driven defects in solids. United States. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aaw0392
Mo, Mianzhen, Murphy, Samuel, Chen, Zhijiang, Fossati, Paul, Li, Renkai, Wang, Yongqiang, Wang, Xijie, and Glenzer, Siegfried. Fri .
"Visualization of ultrafast melting initiated from radiation-driven defects in solids". United States. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aaw0392. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1532401.
@article{osti_1532401,
title = {Visualization of ultrafast melting initiated from radiation-driven defects in solids},
author = {Mo, Mianzhen and Murphy, Samuel and Chen, Zhijiang and Fossati, Paul and Li, Renkai and Wang, Yongqiang and Wang, Xijie and Glenzer, Siegfried},
abstractNote = {Materials exposed to extreme radiation environments such as fusion reactors or deep spaces accumulate substantial defect populations that alter their properties and subsequently the melting behavior. The quantitative characterization requires visualization with femtosecond temporal resolution on the atomic-scale length through measurements of the pair correlation function. Here, we demonstrate experimentally that electron diffraction at relativistic energies opens a new approach for studies of melting kinetics. Our measurements in radiation-damaged tungsten show that the tungsten target subjected to 10 displacements per atom of damage undergoes a melting transition below the melting temperature. Two-temperature molecular dynamics simulations reveal the crucial role of defect clusters, particularly nanovoids, in driving the ultrafast melting process observed on the time scale of less than 10 ps. These results provide new atomic-level insights into the ultrafast melting processes of materials in extreme environments.},
doi = {10.1126/sciadv.aaw0392},
journal = {Science Advances},
number = 5,
volume = 5,
place = {United States},
year = {2019},
month = {5}
}
Web of Science
Figures / Tables:

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Figures / Tables found in this record: