Strain profiles in ion implanted ceramic polycrystals: a new approach based on reciprocal-space crystal selection

H. Palancher (1) , P. Goudeau (2) , Alexandre Boulle (3) , F. Rieutord (4) , V. Favre-Nicolin (5) , Nils Blanc (6) , G. Martin (1) , J. Fouet (1) , Claire Onofri (1, 7)

1 DEC - Département d'Etudes des Combustibles
2 PPrime [Poitiers] - Institut Pprime [UPR 3346]
3 SPCTS-AXE3 - Axe 3 : organisation structurale multiéchelle des matériaux
4 NRS - Nanostructures et Rayonnement Synchrotron
5 SP2M - UMR 9002 - Service de Physique des Matériaux et Microstructures
6 NEEL - CRG - CRG & Grands instruments
7 CEMES - Centre d'élaboration de matériaux et d'études structurales

The determination of the state of strain in implanted materials is a key issue in the study of their mechanical stability. Whereas this question is nowadays relatively easily solved in the case of single crystals, it remains a challenging task in the case of polycrystalline materials. In this paper, we take benefit of the intense and parallel beams provided by third generation synchrotron sources combined with a two-dimensional detection system to analyze individual grains in polycrystals, hence obtaining “single crystal-like” data. The feasibility of the approach is demonstrated with implanted UO2 polycrystals where the in-depth strain profile is extracted for individual grains using numerical simulations of the diffracted signal. The influence of the implantation dose is precisely analyzed for several diffracting planes and grains. This work suggests that, at low fluences, the development of strain is mainly due to ballistic effects with little effect from He ions, independently from the crystallographic orientation. At higher fluences, the evolution of the strain profiles suggests a partial and anisotropic plastic relaxation. With the present approach, robust and reliable structural information can be obtained, even from complex polycrystalline ceramic materials.

Mots clés: Single-Crystals; Mechanical-Behavior; Uranium-Dioxide; Silicon; X-Ray-Diffraction

Domaines: Matériaux

H. Palancher, P. Goudeau, Alexandre Boulle, F. Rieutord, V. Favre-Nicolin, et al.. Strain profiles in ion implanted ceramic polycrystals: a new approach based on reciprocal-space crystal selection. Applied Physics Letters, 2016, 108 (3), pp.031903. ⟨10.1063/1.4939972⟩. ⟨hal-02193206⟩