Development of ion beam techniques for detection of displacement damage in materials

Abstract

The high-energy neutrons from fission reactions cause displacement damage in the materials in fission power plants. It is important to study how these defects influence the material’s properties for a safe operation of a reactor. Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) in channeling configuration is a powerful technique to analyze the structure of materials. It takes advantage of the crystalline structure of the material to reach deep inside the solid. Defects will affect the beam by backscattering or dechanneling. RBS spectra can be combined with Molecular Dynamic (MD) simulations to obtain complementary information. Defects structure depends on the temperature of the material, where thermal annealing is one technique to restore its properties. Within the thesis the RBS technique in channeling configuration was developed and first measurements were performed on test materials.