Irradiation tolerance of amorphous SiOC/crystalline Fe composite

Abstract

a b s t r a c tWe examined the radiation tolerance of amorphous silicon oxycarbide (SiOC) and crystalline Fe composite by using ion irradiation and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The Fe/SiOC multilayer thin films were grown via magnetron sputtering with controlled length scale on a surface oxidized Si (100) substrate. These alloys were irradiated by 120 keV He þ ions to a damage level of $ 1.3 displacements per atom (dpa) at room temperature. TEM characterization shows neither sign of point defect clusters in Fe layer, nor an indication of crystallization or new phase formation in SiOC layer. Our findings suggest that the crystalline/amorphous interface and Fe grain boundary can help to annihilate point defects generated during irradiation, and therefore enhance radiation tolerance properties.

Dose dependence of radiation damage in nano-structured amorphous SiOC/crystalline Fe composite

“…[13] The developed α-Fe/amorphous SiOC composite showed radiation stability after irradiation to 1.3 dpa at RT where the crystalline/amorphous interface was very effective at annihilating point defects and enhancing radiation tolerance. [14] While the crystalline/amorphous interface in Fe/ SiOC composites has been shown to effectively remove defects, the limit to which Fe/SiOC multilayers can sustain radiation damage remains unclear. Also, how the interface density affects the irradiation stability of the Fe/SiOC layered system needs to be further studied.…”

“…The individual layer thickness for thin Fe/SiOC multilayer films is 14 nm. The detailed microstructure characterization of as-deposited Fe/SiOC multilayers can be found in reference [14].…”

Temperature-dependent ion-beam mixing in amorphous SiOC/crystalline Fe composite

“…One example of such a composite is the Fe/SiOC system, which has exhibited promising thermal and radiation tolerant properties. [24][25][26][27] An interesting feature of the Fe/SiOC system is that it is composed of crystalline metal and amorphous ceramic. Previous studies mainly focus on mixing in either crystalline/crystalline or amorphous/amorphous systems.…”

Amorphous intergranular films mitigate radiation damage in nanocrystalline Cu-Zr

“…Samaras et al [51] also observed that areas of high free volume within a grain boundary can serve as defect recombination sites. The importance of free volume was reinforced experimentally by Su et al [52], who showed that the interfaces of amorphous SiOC/crystalline Fe multilayers act as efficient point defect sinks.…”