The role of collision cascades and helium atoms in cavity nucleation

Abstract

The simultaneous production of helium atoms and collision cascades during irradiation may enhance the nucleation of cavities. The influence of parameters such as helium generation rate and recoil energy on the possibility of cavity nucleation is investigated. The three most likely mechanisms by which cascade nucleation might occur are considered. Firstly, helium atoms that are present within the cascade may succeed in preventing the collapse of cascades into dislocation loops. Secondly, helium atoms in the cascades may be swept together during the cooling of the cascade to form cavity embryos. Thirdly, more distant helium atoms may be able to reach an uncollapsed vacancy aggregate in a cascade by diffusion before thermal annealing of the cascade.

Calculations indicate that it is unlikely that a sufficient number of helium atoms would be present in a cascade to prevent its collapse. The probability of several helium atoms being swept together within the volume of a cascade is also found to be rather small. Calculations suggest, however, that the cavity nucleation in cascades might become significant if helium atoms were to diffuse much faster than the substitutional diffusion rate during irradiation. The selfinterstitial replacement mechanism, for instance, would yield such a fast diffusion rate of helium.