Characterizing heavy ions-irradiated Zr/Nb: Structure and mechanical properties

0560394 - ÚJF 2023 RIV GB eng J - Journal Article
Daghbouj, N. - Sen, H. S. - Čížek, J. - Lorinčík, J. - Karlík, M. - Callisti, M. - Čech, J. - Havránek, Vladimír - Li, B. - Kršjak, V. - Liedke, M. O. - Butterling, M. - Wagner, A. - Polcar, T.
Characterizing heavy ions-irradiated Zr/Nb: Structure and mechanical properties.
Materials and Design. Roč. 219, JUL (2022), č. článku 110732. ISSN 0264-1275. E-ISSN 1873-4197
R&D Projects: GA MŠMT EF16_013/0001812
Research Infrastructure: CzechNanoLab - 90110
Institutional support: RVO:61389005
Keywords : Multilayers * Ion irradiation * TEM * Irradiation hardening * Interface * Dislocation
OECD category: Mechanical engineering
Impact factor: 8.4, year: 2022
Method of publishing: Open access
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2022.110732

In this work, the radiation responses of Zr/Nb nanostructured metallic multilayers (NMMs) are studied. The nanostructures with different layer thicknesses were deposited on Si (111) substrate by using magnetron sputtering and were subjected to heavy-ion irradiation at room temperature with different fluences. Nanoindentation, XRD, DFT, SIMS, and Variable Energy Positron Annihilation Spectroscopy (VEPAS) techniques were used to study the type and distribution of defects, and strain within the material as well as the changes in the hardness of the structures as a function of damage. Our results suggest that the strain and the irradiation hardening are layer thickness- and damage-dependent while they are independent of the type of irradiated ions. The magnitude of hardening decreases with decreasing individual layer thickness indicating that the number of interfaces has a direct effect on the radiation tolerance enhancement. For thin layers with a periodicity of 27 nm (Zr/Nb27), a transition from hardening to softening occurs at high fluence, and a saturation point is reached in thick layers with a periodicity of 96 nm (Zr/Nb96). The as-deposited thin multilayers presented a significantly higher atomic-scale disorder which increases with ion irradiation compared to the thick multilayers. VEPAS reveals the vacancy defects before and after irradiation that contribute to the presented strain. Based on the findings, thin nanostructured Zr/Nb multilayered structures possess excellent radiation resistance due to the high density of interfaces that act as sinks for radiation-induced point defects.
Permanent Link: https://hdl.handle.net/11104/0333313