A TEM Study of Cavity Structures in a Fe-Cr-Mn Alloy and a 316L Stainless Steel Heavily Irradiated with 92 MeV Ar Ions

摘要

Low-activation Fe-Cr-Mn alloy and 316L stainless steel were irradiated with 92 MeV Ar ions at about 500 deg C, to fluences of 0.8-1.7Xl0~(21) ions m~(-2) .After irradiation, cross-sectional specimens were investigated with transmission electron microscopy. Cavities with high number density were observed in the peak dose regions. The cavity number density reaches maximum at Ar concentration peak, while cavity mean size is consistent with displacement damage profile. It is indicated that Ar atoms can enhance cavity formation in a manner similar to helium. There are thresholds of dose and dose rate for the bi-modal size distribution of cavities. The significant growth of a small portion of cavities in the peak damage region at the highest ion-fluence is ascribed to the effect of interactive sink strength of cavities