Precipitation kinetics of dilute Cu-W alloys during low-temperature ion irradiation

Abstract

The kinetics of W precipitation in dilute Cu-W alloys during room temperature irradiation is investigated using in situ electrical resistivity measurements and transmission electron microscopy. For a series of alloys with W concentrations varying from ~1 at.% to 6 at.%, resistivity measurements show that high dose irradiation leads to steady-state solubility values which are concentration dependent, while electron microscopy shows that the precipitate structures are stabilized at high doses at a size of about 2 nm. These steady states are independent of the initial alloy microstructure: whether it is a solid solution or it contains large W precipitates within the Cu matrix. The effective tracer impurity diffusion coefficient of W in Cu in energetic displacement cascades is determined by in situ electrical resistivity measurements on multilayer structures of alternating Cu/W layers, yielding a value of 2.1 nm 2 /dpa. These multilayer structures are observed to undergo significant interfacial roughening during irradiation, showing signs of transforming from a 2-dimensional to 3-dimensional structure under prolonged irradiation. A model based on a dynamical competition between recoil mixing and thermal spike diffusion is proposed to explain these various results; it is implemented in kinetic Monte Carlo simulations.

Compositional Patterning in Carbon Implanted Titania Nanotubes

“…[ 46 ] As for comparison with other materials systems, it is relevant to note that for 1.8 MeV Kr + irradiation of the crystalline metallic Cu–W alloy, which reveals a comparable immiscibility as TiO 2 /C, phase separation has been observed and discussed in terms of agglomeration–coagulation process within thermal spike. [ 47 ]…”

Kinetic Monte Carlo Simulations of Irradiation Effects

“…We can mention ZrSiO 4 (Heinisch and Weber 2005), FeCrAl (Ejenstam et al 2015), Cu 83.5 Ag 15 W 1.5 . (Zhang et al 2015), Cu-Nb-W (Bellon and Averback 2015) Cu-W (Zhang et al 2016). For a recent review of precipitation modelling by AKMC approaches see (Becquart and Soisson 2018).…”

Precipitation, Recrystallization, and Evolution of Annealing Twins in a Cu-Cr-Zr Alloy

“…Copper and its alloys are widely used in automobile, electronic, and electric power industries due to their high strength, high thermal and electrical conductivity, and good ductility, as well as because they can be easily shaped [1][2][3][4][5][6]. To satisfy applications in the frame materials in large-scale integrity circuits, besides the requirement of high strength and high electrical conductivity, excellent recrystallization resistance is also needed.…”