Superior tolerance of Ag/Ni multilayers against Kr ion irradiation: an in situ study

Monolithic Ag and Ni films and Ag/Ni multilayers with individual layer thickness of 5 and 50?nm were subjected to in situ Kr ion irradiation at room temperature to 1 displacement-per-atom (a fluence of 2?×?10¹⁴?ions/cm²). Monolithic Ag has high density of small loops (4?nm in diameter), whereas Ni has fewer but much greater loops (exceeding 20?nm). In comparison, dislocation loops, ～4?nm in diameter, were the major defects in the irradiated Ag/Ni 50?nm film, while the loops were barely observed in the Ag/Ni 5?nm film. At 0.2?dpa (0.4?×?10¹⁴?ions/cm), defect density in both monolithic Ag and Ni saturated at 1.6 and 0.2?×?10²³/m³, compared with 0.8?×?10²³/m³ in Ag/Ni 50?nm multilayer at a saturation fluence of ～1?dpa (2?×?10¹⁴?ions/cm²). Direct observations of frequent loop absorption by layer interfaces suggest that these interfaces are efficient defect sinks. Ag/Ni 5?nm multilayer showed a superior morphological stability against radiation compared to Ag/Ni 50?nm film.     

Study on the effect of Ar9+ ion irradiation of Zr–2.5 wt.% Nb alloy pressure tube

Response of Zr–2.5 wt.% Nb alloy pressure tube, used in PHWR nuclear reactors, to 315 keV Ar⁹⁺ ion irradiation at room temperature was investigated in the fluence range of 3.1?×?10¹⁵–4.17?×?10¹⁶ Ar⁹⁺?cm^?2. Changes in microstructural parameters, viz., the size of coherently scattering domains, microstrain and dislocation density, upon irradiation were ascertained through grazing incidence X-ray diffraction. In general, a decrease in domain size was observed with fluence with a corresponding increase in microstrain and dislocation density. Residual stress measurement showed the development of compressive stresses in place of tensile after irradiation. Transmission electron microscopy showed the formation of dislocation loops of ?a?-type and ?c?-type during irradiation. The hardness of irradiated samples, probed through nanoindentation technique, was found to be higher in comparison with unirradiated samples. The above findings have been rationalised on the basis of the defects generated during the Ar⁹⁺ ion irradiation.     

Formation and nature of swirl defects in silicon

Point defect agglomerates in dislocation-free silicon crystals, usually called “swirls”, have been investigated by means of high-voltage electron microscopy. It was found that a single swirl defect consists of a dislocation loop or a cluster of dislocation loops. By contrast experiments it could be shown that these loops are formed by agglomeration of self-interstitial atoms. Generally the loops have a/2〈110〉 Burgers vectors, but in specimens with high concentrations of carbon (～10¹⁷ cm^?3) and oxygen (～10¹⁶ cm^?3) also dislocation loops including a stacking fault were observed. In crystals grown at growth rates higher thanv=4 mm/min no swirls are observed; lower growth rates do not markedly affect the size and shape of the dislocation loops. With decreasing impurity content (particulary of oxygen and carbon) the swirl density decreases, whereas the dislocation loop clusters become larger and more complex. A model is presented which describes the formation of swirls in terms of agglomeration of silicon self-interstitials and impurity atoms.     

Defect aggregates in neutron-irradiated β-Si3N4

Abstract

Microstructural analysis of the defect aggregates formed in bulk samples of polycrystalline β-Si₃N₄ neutron-irradiated to a dose of ～2.0 × 10²⁶n/m² at temperatures of 1100 K and 925 K has been carried out. This study has shown that the defect aggregates formed are faulted dislocation loops lying on the {1010} planes with a Burgers vector of b ? 1 /10<1125>. The vector is non-rational but corresponds to the insertion of an extra layer of [SiN4] tetrahedra on the {10l0} planes plus an additional shear in the loop plane. The formation of these loops is dependent upon the temperature of irradiation. In the sample irradiated at 1100 K their formation is additionally dependent upon whether or not a particular grain contains pre-existing c-axis dislocations. If no c-axis dislocations are present then independent nucleation of the loops is apparent; if there are pre-existing c-axis dislocations then the loops form from an apparent dissociation between the arcs of the irradiation-induced helical c-axis dislocation. In the sample irradiated at 925 K only independent nucleation of the loops occurs, regardless of whether or not there are any pre-existing c-axis dislocations in the grains.     

Growth of he bubbles in al during annealing

Abstract

The temperature dependent growth of He bubbles in Al films implanted at room temperature to various He concentrations is investigated by electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). EELS reveals even the weakest changes in He density within the bubbles by measuring the pressure shift of the He 1¹S₀?2¹P₁ transition. This is applied to investigate the mechanisms driving the growth of bubbles in the temperature range 20°C ? T ? 500°C. For T?200°C indication is found that bubbles relax by emission of interstitial dislocation loops. At higher temperatures bubble migration and coalescence under absorption of thermal vacancies is evident. The final state is characterized by large cavities filled with He at low pressure as evidenced by the detection of the atomic He series.     

质子辐照对纯铝薄膜微观结构的影响

利用透射电子显微镜(TEM)详细分析了不同剂量的质子辐照纯铝薄膜样品的微观结构, 质子的能量E=160 keV.实验表明,质子辐照能够在Al薄膜中诱发空位位错圈,在实验范围内,位错密度随辐照剂量的增加而增加;质子辐照在1×10¹¹—4×10¹¹/mm²范围内随辐照剂量的增加,位错圈数量密度以及位错圈尺寸都随之增加.在较高剂量6×10¹¹/mm²辐照下,位错圈数量密度减小,但其尺寸显著 关键词： 质子辐照 空位簇缺陷 位错圈 微观结构     

Evolution of dislocation loops in austenitic stainless steels implanted with high concentration of hydrogen

Abstract

It has been found that under certain conditions, hydrogen retention would be strongly enhanced in irradiated austenitic stainless steels. To investigate the effect of the retained hydrogen on the defect microstructure, AL-6XN stainless steel specimens were irradiated with low energy (100 keV) H₂⁺ so that high concentration of hydrogen was injected into the specimens while considerable displacement damage dose (up to 7 dpa) was also achieved. Irradiation induced dislocation loops and voids were characterised by transmission electron microscopy. For specimens irradiated to 7 dpa at 290 °C, dislocation loops with high number density were found and the void swelling was observed. At 380 °C, most of dislocation loops were unfaulted and tangled at 7 dpa, and the void swellings were observed at 5 dpa and above. Combining the data from low dose in previous work to high dose, four stages of dislocation loops evolution with hydrogen retention were suggested. Finally, molecular dynamics simulation was made to elucidate the division of large dislocation loops under irradiation.     

Growth of high-quality ZnO thin films on (11\bar{2}0) a-plane sapphire substrates by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy

High-quality ZnO thin films were grown on a-plane sapphire substrates by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy reveal that the ZnO films have high structural quality and an atomically sharp ZnO/Al₂O₃ interface. The full width at half maximum values of the 0002 and $30\bar{3}2$ ZnO ω-rocking curves are 467.8 and 813.5 arc sec for a 600 nm thick ZnO film. A screw dislocation density of 4.35×10⁸ cm^?2 and an edge dislocation density of 3.38×10⁹ cm^?2 are estimated by X-ray diffraction. The surface of the ZnO epilayers contains hexagonal pits, which can be observed in the Zn-polar ZnO. The films have a resistivity of 0.119 Ω?cm, an electron concentration of 6.85×10¹⁷ cm^?3, and a mobility of 76.5 cm²?V^?1?s^?1 at room temperature. Low temperature photoluminescence measurements show good optical properties comparable to ZnO single crystals.     

The density and pressure of helium in bubbles in metals

Abstract

The energy shift of the He 1¹S₀?2¹P₁ transition, ΔE(n), can be used to determine the density, n, of He in bubbles in metals. A self-consistent band structure calculation for solid fcc He yields a linear relationship ΔE=C.n with C _th=22 × 10^?3 eV nm³. Systematic electron energy loss spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy studies of He bubbles in Al for various He doses and temperatures result in C_exp=(24±8).10^?3 eV nm³ in agreement with theory. The analysis is consistent with the assumption that dislocation loop punching is the dominant bubble growth mechanism during high-dose room temperature implantation. The application to He bubbles in Ni indicates a maximum He density of n=0.2 × 10³ nm^?3 for which He should be solid at room temperature.     

Initial dislocation density effect on strain hardening in FCC aluminium alloy under laser shock peening

Abstract

The effect of initial dislocation density on subsequent dislocation evolution and strain hardening in FCC aluminium alloy under laser shock peening (LSP) was investigated by using three-dimension discrete dislocation dynamics (DD) simulation. Initial dislocations were randomly generated and distributed on slip planes for three different dislocation densities of 4.21 × 10¹², 8.12 × 10¹² and 1.26 × 10¹³ m^?2. Besides, variable densities of prismatic loops were introduced into the DD cells as nanoprecipitates to study the dislocation pinning effect. The flow stresses as a function of strain rate obtained by DD simulation are compared with relevant experimental data. The results show a significant dislocation density accumulation in the form of dislocation band-like structures under LSP. The overall yield strength in FCC aluminium alloy decreases with increasing initial dislocation density and forest dislocation strengthening becomes negligible under laser induced ultra-high strain rate deformation. In addition, yield strength is enhanced by increasing the nanoprecipitate density due to dislocation pinning effect.     

Effects of the AlN nucleation layer thickness on the crystal structures of an AlN epilayer grown on the 6H-SiC substrate

The influence of the LT-AlN(NL) growth times on the mosaic structure parameters of the AlN layer grown on the LT-AlN(NL)/6H-SiC structures as well as the dislocation densities and the strain behaviours in the AlN epilayers has been investigated using XRD measurements. The growth times of the LT-AlN(NL) were changed to 0, 60, 120, 180, and 240?s. We observed that the mosaic structure parameters of the AlN epilayers were slightly affected by the LT-AlN(NL) growth times. However, the dislocation densities in the AlN layer are affected by the growth times of the LT-AlN(NL) layer. The highest edge dislocation density (5.48?×?10¹⁰?±?2.3?×?10⁹?cm^?2) was measured for the sample in which 120?s grown LT-AlN(NL) was used. On the other hand, highest screw type dislocation density (1.21?×?10¹⁰?±?1.7?×?10⁹?cm^?2) measured in the sample E that contains 240?s growth LT-AlN(NL). The strain calculation results show that the samples without LT-AlN(NL) suffered maximum compressive in-plane strain (?10.9?×?10^?3?±?1.8?×?10^?4), which can be suppressed by increasing the LT-AlN(NL) growth times. The out-of-plane strain also has a compressive character and its values increase with LT-AlN(NL) growth times between 60 and 180?s. Same out-of-plane strain values were measured for the LT-AlN(NL) growth times of 180 and 240?s. Furthermore, the form of the biaxial stress in the AlN epilayer changed from compressive to tensile when the LT-AlN(NL) growth times were greater than 120?s.     

Heavy-ion irradiations of Fe and Fe–Cr model alloys Part 1: Damage evolution in thin-foils at lower doses

The evolution of radiation damage in Fe and Fe–Cr alloys under heavy-ion irradiation was investigated using transmission electron microscopy. Thin foils were irradiated with 100 or 150 keV Fe⁺ and Xe⁺ ions at room temperature (RT) and 300°C. Dynamic observations followed the evolution of damage and the early stages in damage development are reported. Small (2–5 nm) dislocation loops first appeared at doses between 10¹⁶ and 10¹⁷ ions m^?2 in all materials. Loop number densities depended strongly on the foil orientation in pure Fe but not in Fe–Cr alloys. Number densities did not depend strongly on Cr content. For a given material, defect yields were higher for Xe⁺ ions than for Fe⁺ ions, and were higher at RT than at 300°C. Loops with both ?100? and ½?111? Burgers vectors were identified. The proportion of ?100? loops was larger, especially in pure Fe. Dynamic observations showed that: the contrast of some new loops developed over intervals as long as 0.2 s; hopping of ½?111? loops was induced by the ion and electron beams and was pronounced in ultra-pure iron; and many loops were lost during and after ion irradiation by glide to the foil surface. The number of loops retained was strongly dependent on the foil orientation in Fe, but less so in Fe–Cr alloys. This is due to lower loop mobility in Fe–Cr alloys, probably due to pinning by Cr atoms. Reduced loop loss probably explains the higher loop number densities in Fe–Cr alloys compared with pure Fe.     

Dislocation-density-based constitutive modelling of tensile flow and work-hardening behaviour of P92 steel

The flow and work-hardening behaviour of tempered martensitic P92 steel have been investigated using phenomenological constitutive model in the temperature range 300–873 K for the strain rates ranging from 3.16 × 10^?5 to 1.26 × 10^?3 s^?1. The analysis indicated that the hybrid model reduced to Estrin–Mecking (E–M) one-internal-variable model at intermediate and high temperatures. Further, the analysis also indicated that dislocation dense martensite lath/cell boundaries and precipitates together act as effective barriers to dislocation glide in P92 steel. The flow behaviour of the steel was adequately described by the E–M approach for the range of temperatures and strain rates examined. Three distinct temperature regimes have been obtained for the variations in work-hardening parameters with respect to temperature and strain rate. Signatures of dynamic strain ageing in terms of the anomalous variations in work-hardening parameters at intermediate temperatures and the dominance of dynamic recovery at high temperatures have been observed. The evaluation of activation energy suggested that deformation is controlled by the dominance of cross-slip of dislocations at room and intermediate temperatures, and climb of dislocations at high temperatures.     

Migration behaviour of vacancies and damage structure recovery in a Fe-based Fe-Cr-Mn-Cu-Mo multi-component alloy

ABSTRACT

A Fe-based multi-component alloy, 60Fe-12Cr-10Mn-15Cu-3Mo, which presents higher yield stress than typical stainless steels (such as 304, 316, and 340), was used to investigate the thermal stability of irradiation-induced defects. Neutron irradiation was carried out at approximately 323 and 643?K using up to 1.3 × 10^?3 and 4.5 × 10^?4 dpa (displacements per atom), respectively. While no defects were accumulated at the high temperature of 643?K, single vacancies were formed after irradiation at the low temperature of 323?K to 1.3 × 10^?3 dpa, and the vacancies became mobile at 423?K. As a result, vacancy clusters were formed. However, as the annealing temperature increased the size of vacancy clusters decreased. Coincidence Doppler broadening measurements indicated that Cu precipitates were the sites of vacancy cluster formation, and the recovery of vacancy clusters became prominent while annealing the irradiated sample at temperatures higher than 423?K. Recovery of vacancy clusters at 573?K, which was not a high temperature, was also observed even in the sample that was irradiated using 2.5?MeV Fe ions at room temperature to 0.6 dpa at damage peak.     

磷离子注入速率对4H-SiC(0001)晶格恢复与电阻率降低的影响

高剂量的磷离子注入4H-SiC(0001)晶面，注入速率从1.0×1012到4.0×1012 P+ cm-2s-1变化，而注入剂量固定为2.0×1015 P+ cm-2。室温注入，1500oC的高温下退火。利用光荧光和拉曼谱分析注入产生的晶格损伤以及退火后的残余缺陷。通过霍耳测试来分析注入层的电学性质。基于上述测试结果，发现通过减小磷离子的注入速率，极大地减少了注入层的损伤及缺陷。考虑到室温注入以及相对较低的退火温度(1500 oC)，在注入速率为1.0×1012 P+ cm-2s-1及施主浓度下为4.4×1019 cm-3的条件下，获得了非常低的方块电阻106 Ω/sq。     

A Comparative Analysis of In-Medium Spectral Functions for N(940) and N ∗(1535) in Real-Time Thermal Field Theory

In the real-time thermal field theory, the nucleon self-energy at finite temperature and density is evaluated where an extensive set of pion-baryon (π B) loops are consider. On the other side, the in-medium self-energy of N ^?(1535) for π N and η N loops is also determined in the same framework. The detail branch cut structures for these different π B loops for nucleon N(940) and π N, η N loops for N ^?(1535) are addressed. Using the total self-energy of N(940) and N ^?(1535), which contain the contributions of their corresponding loop diagrams, the complete structures of their in-medium spectral functions have been obtained. The Landau and unitary cut contributions provide two separate peak structures in the nucleon spectral function while N ^?(1535) has a single peak structure in its unitary cuts. At high temperature, the peak structures of both at their individual poles are attenuated while at high density Landau peak structure of nucleon is completely suppressed and its unitary peak structure is tending to be shifted towards the melted peak of N ^?(1535). The non-trivial modifications of these chiral partners may indicate some association of chiral symmetry restoration.     

Enhancement of the power factor of Pb1–xSnxTe (0.00 ≥ x ≥ 0.08) alloys

Thermoelectric properties of Pb_1–x Sn _x Te (0.00 ≥ x ≥ 0.08) alloys synthesized by melting-quenching-annealing method have been investigated. The sample structure and phases have been investigated by Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction, while the morphology and stoichiometry have been studied by SEM and EDX. The nanomaterial exists in a single phase and has a face-centred cubic (fcc) lattice of rock-salt type in the whole range of x values in Pb_1–x Sn _x Te alloys. The effect of tin substitution on the lattice vibration and chemical bonding nature in the lead telluride has been investigated by Raman spectroscopy at room temperature. The Seebeck coefficient and electrical resistivity have been measured in the temperature range of 100–400 K. The electrical resistivity measurements reveal that the compounds have extrinsic to intrinsic conduction transition and the electrical temperature transition shifts to higher values with increasing the Sn content. For all studied compounds, the Seebeck coefficient is positive indicating predomination of positive charge carriers over the entire temperature range. The thermoelectric power factor was enhanced to 2.03 mWm^?1 K^?2 for the sample with 4% Sn content at room temperature.     

Quantitative evaluation of dislocation density using minor-loop scaling relations

Relationships between minor hysteresis loops and dislocation density have been investigated at various temperatures from 10 to 600 K in polycrystalline nickel with tensile deformation. It was revealed that coefficients obtained from scaling relations between parameters of minor-loops are in linear proportion to stress at all measuring temperatures below its Curie temperature. Considering that dislocation density is generally in proportion to the square root of true stress, it is concluded that the coefficients are related with the square root of dislocation density. This method using minor hysteresis loops is useful for quantitative evaluation of dislocation density because of its very low measurement field.     

Temperature dependence of inelastic ultracold-neutron scattering at low energy transfer

The temperature dependence of inelastic ultracold-neutron scattering on beryllium and copper surfaces at low energy transfers (about 10^?7 eV) is investigated, and the results of this investigation are presented. The recorded flux of neutrons inelastically scattered by these surfaces at liquid-nitrogen temperature is less than that at room temperature by a factor of about two.     

Void growth via atomistic simulation: will the formation of shear loops still grow a void under different thermo-mechanical constraints?

Abstract

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations under different mechanical and thermal constraints are carried out with a nanovoid embedded inside a single-crystal, face-centred-cubic copper. The dislocation emission angles measured from MD plots under 0.1 K, uniaxial-strain simulation are in line with the theoretical model. The dislocation density calculated from simulation is qualitatively consistent with the experimental measurement in terms of a saturation feature. The ‘relatively farthest-travelled’ atoms are employed to reflect the correlation between the dislocation structure and the void growth. At a smaller scale, the incomplete shear dislocation loops on the slip plane contribute to the local material transport. At a larger scale, the dislocation structures formed by those incomplete shear loops further facilitate the growth of nanovoid. Compared to the uniaxial-strain case, the void growth under the uniaxial-stress is very limited. The uniaxial-strain loading results in an octahedron void shape. The uniaxial-stress loading turns the nanovoid into a prolate ellipsoid along the loading direction. In the simulation, the largest specimen contains 12 million atoms and the lowest strain rate applied is 2 × 10⁶ s^?1. Under all the different thermomechanical constraints concerned, the formation of incomplete shear dislocation loops are found capable of growing the void.