Proton-induced radiation damage on lutetium-aluminium and gold microstructures using XRD and TEM techniques

This work investigated radiation damage induced by protons on Lutetium-Aluminium (Al-5.2Lu) and Gold (Au) microstructures. SRIM-2013 calculations were used to estimate the irradiation dose that was used in the experiment to irradiate Al-5.2Lu and Au materials in the CLASS accelerator facility. Microstructural characterization techniques including X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), were employed to characterize damage in the samples pre- and post-irradiation. TEM characterization revealed dislocations in the sampled materials and Stacking Faults Tetrahedra (SFT) in the Au sample. The calculated dislocation densities from XRD and TEM data ranged from 0.7 to (Formula presented.)  m (Formula presented.), indicating a monotonic increase with rising displacement-Per-Atom (dpa) post-irradiation. Al-5.2Lu exhibited higher defect densities than the Au sample. The observed dislocation densities were relatively high, and prolonged irradiation of the materials could enhance further changes in microstructural properties, leading to the macroscopic material's physical and mechanical property changes.