The Effect of Swift Heavy Ion Irradiation on the Microstructures of YAP, YAG and YIG

Abstract

The radiation stability of yttrium-based oxides as important ingredients of oxide dispersion strengthened alloys is a subject of extensive study. Oxide particles containing yttrium have been shown to be very stable at elevated temperatures. Of particular interest to investigations in this field is the radiation damage induced by swift heavy ion (SHI), which serves to simulate fission fragment impact. The aim of this investigation is to assess the effects of SHI irradiation on the microstructure of single crystalline YAP (Y-Al-Perovskite, YAlO3 ), YAG (Y-Al-Garnet, Y3Al5O12) and YIG (Y-Fe-Garnet, Y3Fe5O12). The samples used in this investigation were irradiated with Ar, Bi, Kr and Xe ions with energies ranging from 46 MeV to 2.6 GeV to fluences in the range of 10 10 - 10 14 cm-2. A subset of these samples was irradiated at temperatures ranging from LNT to 700 °C. The overall intention of these experiments was to determine the threshold stopping power for latent track formation and the influence of increasing stopping power and irradiation temperature on track morphology, employing Transmission Electron Microscopy techniques. Since these materials are similar in elemental composition but differ in crystal structure, the differences in microstructure of latent tracks is very informative when considered within the framework of the thermal spike model.