Annealing of radiation-induced defects in vanadium and vanadium-titanium alloys

Abstract

The annealing of defects induced by electron irradiation up to a dose of 6 × 10 21 m −2 at T < 293K has been investigated in single-crystals of pure vanadium and in vanadium-titanium alloys with compositions 0.3, 1 and 5 at.% Ti using positron annihilation spectroscopy. The recovery of the positron annihilation parameters in V single-crystals indicates that the defect annealing takes place in the temperature range 410–470 K without formation of microvoids for the present irradiation conditions. For the alloys the recovery onset is shifted to 460 K, the width of the annealing stage is gradually broadened with increasing Ti content, and microvoids are formed for annealing temperatures at the end of the recovery stage. The results show that the vacancy release from vacancy-interstitial impurity pairs and subsequent recombination with interstitial loops is the mechanism of the recovery in pure V. For V-Ti alloys, vacancy-Ti-interstitial impurity complexes and vacancy-Ti pairs appear to be the defects responsible for the positron trapping. The broadening of teh recovery stage with increasing Ti content indicates that solute Ti is a very effective trap for vacancies in V.