Dynamic substrate reactions during room temperature heavy ion irradiation of CoCrCuFeNi high entropy alloy thin films

Journal Article · Wed Jul 20 00:00:00 UTC 2022 · npj Materials Degradation

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41529-022-00260-2 · OSTI ID:1876922

Lach, Timothy G. ; Silva, Chinthaka M.; Zhou, Yufan; Boldman, Walker L.; Rack, Philip D. ; Weber, William J. ; Zhang, Yanwen

Abstract High entropy alloys (HEAs) are promising materials for various applications including nuclear reactor environments. Thus, understanding their behavior under irradiation and exposure to different environments is important. Here, two sets of near-equiatomic CoCrCuFeNi thin films grown on either SiO ₂ /Si or Si substrates were irradiated at room temperature with 11.5 MeV Au ions, providing similar behavior to exposure to inert versus corrosion environments. The film grown on SiO ₂ had relatively minimal change up to peak damage levels above 500 dpa, while the film grown on Si began intermixing at the substrate–film interface at peak doses of 0.1 dpa before transforming into a multi-silicide film at higher doses, all at room temperature with minimal thermal diffusion. The primary mechanism is radiation-enhanced diffusion via the inverse Kirkendall and solute drag effects. The results highlight how composition and environmental exposure affect the stability of HEAs under radiation and give insights into controlling these behaviors.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE; USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
• Grant/Contract Number: AC05-00OR22725
• OSTI ID: 1876922
• Journal Information: npj Materials Degradation, Journal Name: npj Materials Degradation Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 6; ISSN 2397-2106
• Publisher: Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement
• Country of Publication: United Kingdom
• Language: English