Inert gas diffusion and radiation damage in ionic crystals and sinters following ion bombardment

Abstract

A review is given of radiation damage and diffusion phenomena in a large variety of ionic crystals (oxides and halides) and two metals following ion bombardment. Ion beams of both light and heavy nuclides between mass number 3 (tritium) and 222 (emanation) were employed. The ion doses varied between 104 and 1017 ions/cm2. Four different experimental techniques were used to detect gross structural radiation damage following bombardment: reflection electron diffraction, measurement of ranges or penetration profiles, electron microscopy in transmission or using replica techniques, and gas release measurements at low temperatures. In general, materials having cubic lattice structures were shown to be more stable than anisotropic substances.Minor local damage (such as point defects, defect clusters or voids, dislocations and loops) was studied by its interaction with rare gases or other volatile elements (Br, Rb, Cs). For the heavy rare gases (Kr, Xe, Em) and low bombardment doses, volume diffusion was observed starting between 0.4 and 0.5 of the melting point, Tm, on the absolute temperature scale. The activation enthalpies ΔH were about 80 ± 10% of those for the self-diffusion of the less mobile lattice ions and were related to Tm via ΔH = (1.4 ± 0.2) × 10−3Tm eV = (32 ± 4) Tm kcal/mole. For the diffusion mechanism, a relation with self-diffusion is suggested, the gas most probably migrating in small vacancy clusters.