Open AccessThe formation of bubbles in Zr alloys under Kr ion irradiation
Author(s) -
R. C. Birtcher,
Luciano Pagano,
Arthur T. Motta
Publication year - 1996
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Reports
DOI - 10.2172/373889
Subject(s) - bubble , materials science , ion , angstrom , alloy , ion implantation , irradiation , thin film , liquid bubble , analytical chemistry (journal) , crystallography , metallurgy , chemistry , nuclear physics , nanotechnology , physics , organic chemistry , chromatography , mechanics
The authors report here a study of Kr ion implantation and the resultant bubble formation in Zr and Zr alloys, including Zircaloy-2 and Zircaloy-4. Implantations into thin foils were performed in the HVEM/Tandem facility at Argonne National Laboratory at temperatures between 300 to 800 C and to doses up to 2 x 10{sup 16} ion.cm{sup {minus}2}. Bulk specimens were implanted in an ion-beam chamber and then thinned for viewing by TEM. In thin foils, only small bubbles (30--100 {angstrom}) were formed at all temperatures with the exception of the Cr-rich V alloy where bubbles of 130 {angstrom} bubbles were formed. Bulk samples implanted at 300 C contained a bubble morphology similar to that observed after implantation into thin foils. However, at high temperatures (500--800 C) large faceted bubbles (up to 300 {angstrom}) were produced in bulk specimens. The results indicate that bubble formation and evolution below 500 C is controlled by gas concentration, while it is controlled by bubble mobility at high temperatures