On the growth of dislocation loops in electron irradiated copper foils

Abstract

We have irradiated foils of single-crystal pure copper in the Harwell AEI EM-7 microscope at several temperatures from 140 to 320°C, and have measured interstitial dislocation loop densities and growth rates. We have interpreted the experimental results using the rate theory of microstructural evolution during radiation damage. We have achieved a good agreement between loop growth measurements and rate theory calculations only when using a very recently developed dislocation sink strength. In this case we predict a temperature-dependent dislocation bias for interstitials and a vacancy migration energy of about 0.75 eV, which is consistent with recent independent experimental data.