Ion beam synthesis of ZrC_xO_y nanoparticles in cubic zirconia

摘要

{110}1oriented yttria-stabilized zirconia single crystals have been implanted with low-energy C ions in an axial direction, at room temperature and at 550 ℃. Room temperature ion implantation generated a damage layer that contains the expected dislocation loop clusters. Strikingly, the high temperature implantation produced zirconium oxycarbide nanoparticles (ZrC_xO_y) at a shallow depth in the yttria-stabilized cubic zirconia crystal, with a diameter in the range of 4-10nm. Moreover, in the high concentration region of implanted C ions, between 100 and 150nm below the surface, a number of large precipitates, up to 20nm, were observed.