In situ defect annealing of swift heavy ion irradiated CeO2 and ThO2 using synchrotron X-ray diffraction and a hydrothermal diamond anvil cell

摘要

Hydrothermal diamond anvil cells (HDACs) provide facile means for coupling synchrotron X-ray techniques with pressure up to 10 GPa and temperature up to 1300 K. This manuscript reports on an application of the HDAC as an ambient-pressure sample environment for performing in situ defect annealing and thermal expansion studies of swift heavy ion irradiated CeO2 and ThO2 using synchrotron X-ray diffraction. The advantages of the in situ HDAC technique over conventional annealing methods include rapid temperature ramping and quench times, high-resolution measurement capability, simultaneous annealing of multiple samples, and prolonged temperature and apparatus stability at high temperatures. Isochronal annealing between 300 and 1100 K revealed two-stage and one-stage defect recovery processes for irradiated CeO2 and ThO2, respectively, indicating that the morphology of the defects produced by swift heavy ion irradiation of these two materials differs significantly. These results suggest that electronic configuration plays a major role in both the radiation-induced defect production and high-temperature defect recovery mechanisms of CeO2 and ThO2.