Effect of temperature on irradiation-induced dislocation loops in copper

Abstract

The effect of irradiation temperature on irradiation-induced dislocation loops in copper has been studied by x-ray diffuse scattering. Dislocation loop size distributions and total defect concentrations were obtained for irradiations in the temperature range 316–483 °K for neutron doses in the range (1–10) ×1018 n/cm2. The average loop sizes were found to increase with increasing irradiation temperature and increasing neutron dose. The number of point defects stored in the loop distributions tended to saturate at the higher doses and were found to decrease with increasing irradiation temperature. Ambient-temperature measurements made on 4 °K neutron- and electron-irradiated copper indicated the dislocation loops formed during the anneal to room temperature were smaller than those produced by ambient-temperature reactor irradiations.