Abstract
Uranium dioxide thin films have been successfully grown on LSAT (Al10La3O51Sr14Ta7) substrates by reactive magnetron sputtering. Irradiation by 92 MeV 129Xe23+ ions to simulate fission damage that occurs within nuclear fuels caused microstructural and crystallographic changes. Initially flat and continuous thin films were produced by magnetron sputtering with a root mean square roughness of 0.35 nm determined by AFM. After irradiation, this roughness increased to 60–70 nm, with the films developing discrete microstructural features: small grains (∼3 μm), along with larger circular (up to 40 μm) and linear formations with non-uniform composition according to the SEM, AFM and EDX results. The irradiation caused significant restructuring of the UO2 films that was manifested in significant film-substrate mixing, observed through EDX analysis. Diffusion of Al from the substrate into the film in unirradiated samples was also observed.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 210-217 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Journal of Nuclear Materials |
Volume | 482 |
Early online date | 12 Oct 2016 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 15 Dec 2016 |
Keywords
- UO2
- Ion irradiation
- Microstructure
- Thin films
- Radiation damage