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Symposium Explores the Use of Accelerators to Better Understand Radiation Effects in Materials |
By Gary Was, University of Michigan
Posted Date: 4/22/2008
 Particle beam-induced radiation effects in materials are of increasing importance in several fields. Charged particle beams serve as surrogates for neutron irradiation to complement reactor irradiation damage studies. They are also of increasing importance in material modification in accelerator-driven systems and for fabrication of micro- and nanostructures. The Particle Beam-Induced Radiation Effects in Materials symposium at the TMS 2008 Annual Meeting covered both low- and high-energy irradiations with charged particles ranging from electrons to heavy ions over the energy range eV to GeV. Both experimental and theoretical studies were presented on a wide range of materials including metals, ceramics, insulators, superconductors, and semiconductors.
Forty-one talks covered topics that included radiation effects in metals and multilayered structures, radiation-induced segregation, ceramics and nuclear fuel materials, carbides and semiconductors, and processing of nanostructures with ion beams. Among the highlights, Gerhard Schumacher of the Hahn-Meitner-Institut in Berlin explained the role of high-energy heavy ions in the amorphization of grain boundaries of Zr-Ti-Ni-Cu alloys. Michael Jenkins of the University of Oxford presented an outstanding invited talk in which he showed the dynamic, real-time evolution of the microstructure of Fe and Fe-Cr alloys under heavy ion irradiation in the transmission electron microscope. Capabilities such as this may prove to be essential in gaining a better appreciation for the evolution of damage with time or dose, which is impossible with in-reactor irradiations. Philippe Pareige of Rouen University in France presented an outstanding paper that illustrated the power of atom probe tomography to identify defect clusters, track composition changes in the material and identify clustering of gas atoms in a pre-irradiated solid. In an invited talk capping the symposium, Lumin Wang of the University of Michigan, described a number of exciting nanostructures that are processed by the use of keV to GeV ion beams. These structures are of interest not only because of their unique properties, but because of the insight they provide into the physical processes responsible for their creation.
Overall, the symposium was a great success with significant interest in continuing the theme in future TMS meetings. The symposium was organized by Stuart Maloy (Los Alamos National Laboratory), Christina Trautman (GSI, Germany), Max Victoria (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory), and Gary S. Was (University of Michigan). Support for the symposium was provided by Los Alamos National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and the Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Energy. Proceedings of the symposium will be published in a special volume of the Journal of Nuclear Materials, planned for 2009.
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