Improving atomic displacement and replacement calculations with physically realistic damage models

Atomic collision processes are fundamental to numerous advanced materials technologies such as electron microscopy, semiconductor processing and nuclear power generation. Extensive experimental and computer simulation studies over the past several decades provide the physical basis for understanding the atomic-scale processes occurring during primary displacement events. The current international standard for quantifying this energetic particle damage, the Norgett-Robinson-Torrens displacements per atom (NRT-dpa) model, has nowadays several well-known limitations. In particular, the number of radiation defects produced in energetic cascades in metals is only similar to 1/3 the NRT-dpa prediction, while the number of atoms involved in atomic mixing is about a factor of 30 larger than the dpa value. Here we propose two new complementary displacement production estimators (athermal recombination corrected dpa, arc-dpa) and atomic mixing (replacements per atom, rpa) functions that extend the NRT-dpa by providing more physically realistic descriptions of primary defect creation in materials and may become additional standard measures for radiation damage quantification.Peer reviewe

Mechanical Properties of Molybdenum Disulfide and the Effect of Doping: An in Situ TEM Study

Direct observations on nanopillars composed of molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) and chromium-doped MoS₂ and their response to compressive stress have been made. Time-resolved transmission electron microscopy (TEM) during compression of the submicrometer diameter pillars of MoS₂- and Cr-doped MoS₂ (Cr: 0, 10, and 50 at %) allow the deformation process of the material to be observed and can be directly correlated with mechanical response to applied load. The addition of chromium to the MoS₂ changed the failure mode from plastic deformation to catastrophic brittle fracture, an effect that was more pronounced as chromium content increased

Primary radiation damage : A review of current understanding and models

Scientific understanding of any kind of radiation effects starts from the primary damage, i.e. the defects that are produced right after an initial atomic displacement event initiated by a high-energy particle. In this Review, we consider the extensive experimental and computer simulation studies that have been performed over the past several decades on what the nature of the primary damage is. We review both the production of crystallographic or topological defects in materials as well as radiation mixing, i.e. the process where atoms in perfect crystallographic positions exchange positions with other ones in non-defective positions. All classes of materials except biological materials are considered. We also consider the recent effort to provide alternatives to the current international standard for quantifying this energetic particle damage, the Norgett-Robinson-Torrens displacements per atom (NRT-dpa) model for metals. We present in detail new complementary displacement production estimators ("athermal recombination corrected dpa", arc-dpa) and atomic mixing ("replacements per atom", rpa) functions that extend the NRT-dpa, and discuss their advantages and limitations. (C) 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.Peer reviewe

In situ Measurements of Irradiation-Induced Creep of Nanocrystalline Copper at Elevated Temperatures

We have measured irradiation-induced creep on nanocrystalline copper micropillars at elevated temperatures. The micropillars, which were approximate to 1 mu m in diameter and approximate to 2 mu m in height, were fabricated from magnetron-sputtered nanocrystalline copper films. The micropillars were compressed during 2.0 MeV Ar+ bombardment and the deformation measured in situ by laser interferometry. The creep rate was measured over the stress range 10-120 MPa at approximate to 200 degrees C. The results show linear relationships of creep rate with both applied stress and displacement rate, yielding a creep compliance of 0.07 dpa(-1) GPa(-1) (dpa:displacement per atom). The findings are in good agreement with the previous results obtained using a bulge test on free-standing thin film specimens

In situ creep measurements on micropillar samples during heavy ion irradiation

We report on the development of an in situ micropillar compression apparatus capable of measuring creep under heavy ion beam irradiation. The apparatus has a force resolution of 1 mu N and a displacement resolution of 1 nm. The experimental setup consists of a nanopositioner, a laser displacement sensor, and a microfabricated doubly clamped silicon-beam transducer. The system was tested by measuring the creep rate of amorphous Cu56Ti38Ag6 micropillars as a function of applied stress during room temperature irradiation with 2.1 MeV Ne+. Measured values of the irradiation induced fluidity are in the range 0.5-3 dpa(-1) GPa(-1), and in good agreement with values obtained by stress relaxation experiments on other metallic glasses, and with predictions of molecular dynamics simulations. The in situ apparatus provides a practical approach for accelerated evaluation of irradiation induced creep in promising nuclear materials

Effect of solute segregation on thermal creep in dilute nanocyrstalline Cu alloys

The effect of solute segregation on thermal creep in dilute nanocrystalline alloys (Cu–Nb, Cu–Fe, Cu–Zr) was studied at elevated temperatures using molecular dynamics simulations. A combined Monte-Carlo and molecular dynamics simulation technique was first used to equilibrate the distribution of segregating solutes. Then the creep rates of the diluted Cu samples were measured as functions of temperature, composition, load and accumulated strain. In Cu–Nb samples, the creep rates were observed to increase initially with strain, but then saturate at a value close to that obtained for alloys prepared by randomly locating the solute in the grain boundaries. This behavior is attributed to an increase in grain boundary volume and energy with added chemical disorder. At high temperatures, the apparent activation energy for creep was anomalously high, 3 eV, but only 0.3 eV at lower temperatures. This temperature dependence is found to correlate with atomic mobilities in bulk Cu–Nb glasses. Calculations of creep in nanocrystalline Cu alloys containing other solutes, Fe and Zr, show that the suppression of creep rate scales with their atomic volumes when dissolved in Cu

Direct measurements of irradiation-induced creep in micropillars of amorphous Cu56Ti38Ag6, Zr52Ni48, Si, and SiO2

We report in situ measurements of irradiation-induced creep on amorphous (a-) Cu56Ti38Ag6, Zr52Ni48, Si, and SiO2. Micropillars 1 mu m in diameter and 2 mu m in height were irradiated with similar to 2MeV heavy ions during uniaxial compression at room temperature. The creep measurements were performed using a custom mechanical testing apparatus utilizing a nanopositioner, a silicon beam transducer, and an interferometric laser displacement sensor. We observed Newtonian flow in all tested materials. For a-Cu56Ti38Ag6, a-Zr52Ni48, a-Si, and Kr+ irradiated a-SiO2 irradiation-induced fluidities were found to be nearly the same, approximate to 3 GPa(-1) dpa(-1), whereas for Ne+ irradiated a-SiO2 the fluidity was much higher, 83 GPa(-1) dpa(-1). A fluidity of 3 GPa(-1) dpa(-1) can be explained by point-defect mediated plastic flow induced by nuclear collisions. The fluidity of a-SiO2 can also be explained by this model when nuclear stopping dominates the energy loss, but when the electronic stopping exceeds 1 keV/nm, stress relaxation in thermal spikes also contributes to the fluidity. (C) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC