Abstract
Ion irradiation is a common technique of materials processing, as well as being relevant to the radiation damage incurred in nuclear reactors. Early models of the effects of ion irradiation typically assumed that particles undergo two-body elastic collisions1, like billiard balls colliding in three dimensions. Later descriptions invoked such phenomena as localization of kinetic energy, thermalization and localized melting2,3,4. In all these descriptions, the displacement of atoms is chaotic in that slight variations in the ion's trajectory produce completely different, unpredictable sets of atomic displacements5. Here we report molecular-dynamics simulations of high-energy self-bombardment of copper and nickel, in which we see collective displacements of atoms. The high pressures developed in collision cascades centred well below the surface can cause a coherent displacement of thousands of atoms, over tens of atomic planes, in a shear-induced slip motion towards the surface. The mechanism leads to a significant increase in damage production near the surface, characterized by well-ordered islands of adsorbed atoms. Our findings suggest an explanation for some features of radiation damage, as well as for differences between ion and neutron irradiation6.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Moreno Marin, J. C., Conrad, U. & Urbassek, H. M. Fractal structure of collision cascades. Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. B 48, 404–407 (1990).
Diaz de la Rubia, T., Averback, R. S., Benedek, R. & King, W. E. Role of thermal spikes in energetic collision cascades. Phys. Rev. Lett. 59, 1930–1933 (1987).
Bacon, D. J. & Diaz de la Rubia, T. Molecular dynamics computer simulations of displacement cascades in metals. J. Nucl. Mater. 216, 275–290 (1994).
Averback, R. S. & Diaz de la Rubia, T. in Solid State Physics Vol. 51 (eds Ehrenfest, H. & Spaepen, F.) 281–402 (Academic, New York, (1998)).
Robinson, M. T. The statistics of sputtering. Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. B 90, 509–512 (1994).
English, C. A. & Jenkins, M. L. Insight into cascade processes arising from cascade collapse. Mater. Sci. Forum. 15–18, 1003–1022 (1987).
Diaz de la Rubia, T. & Gilmer, G. H. Structural transformations and defect production in ion implanted silicon: a molecular dynamics simulation study. Phys. Rev. Lett. 74, 2507–2510 (1995).
Nordlund, K., Wei, L., Zhong, Y. & Averback, R. S. Role of electron-phonon coupling on collision cascade development in Ni, Pd and Pt. Phys. Rev. B 57, 13965–13968 (1998).
Ghaly, M. & Averback, R. S. Effect of viscous flow on ion damage near solid surfaces. Phys. Rev. Lett. 72, 364–367 (1994).
Kittel, C. Introduction to Solid State Physics 3rd edn (Wiley, New York, (1968)).
Nordlund, K. & Averback, R. S. Point defect movement and annealing in collision cascades. Phys. Rev. B 56, 2421–2431 (1997).
Fukushima, H., Jenkins, M. L. & Kirk, M. A. On the determination of the nature of defect clusters produced by displacement cascades. Part II. Application of stereo imaging techniques to heavy-ion damage in copper. Phil. Mag. A 75, 1583–1602 (1997).
Brown, L. M. & Woolhouse, G. R. The loss of coherency of precipitates and the generation of dislocations. Phil. Mag. 21, 329–345 (1970).
Gibson, J. B., Goland, A. N., Milgram, M. & Vineyard, G. H. Dynamics of radiation damage. Phys. Rev. 120, 1229–1253 (1960).
Nordlund, K.et al. Defect production in collision cascades in elemental semiconductors and FCC metals. Phys. Rev. B 57, 7556–7570 (1998).
Seeger, A. in Radiation Damage in Solids Vol. 1, 101–127 (Int. Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, (1962)).
Kojima, S.et al. Confirmation of vacancy-type stacking fault tetrahedra in quenched, deformed and irradiated face-centred cubic metals. Phil. Mag. A 59, 519–532 (1989).
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the Academy of Finland, the US National Science Foundation and the US Department of Energy. Grants of computer time from the Center for Scientific Computing in Espoo, Finland, the National Energy Research Computer Center at Livermore, California, and the National Center for Supercomputing Applications in Champaign, Illinois, are gratefully acknowledged.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Nordlund, K., Keinonen, J., Ghaly, M. et al. Coherent displacement of atoms during ion irradiation. Nature 398, 49–51 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/17983
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/17983
This article is cited by
-
A theoretical investigation of the effect of Ga alloying on thermodynamic stability, electronic-structure, and oxidation resistance of Ti2AlC MAX phase
Scientific Reports (2022)
-
Effect of carbon nanotube on radiation resistance of CNT-Cu nanocomposite: MD simulation
Journal of Materials Science (2020)
-
Disorder in Mn+1AXn phases at the atomic scale
Nature Communications (2019)
-
Improving atomic displacement and replacement calculations with physically realistic damage models
Nature Communications (2018)
-
Enhancing radiation tolerance by controlling defect mobility and migration pathways in multicomponent single-phase alloys
Nature Communications (2016)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.