Characterization of loops in YSZ by Ne irradiation

Hojo, Tomohiro*; Yasuhara, Akira*; Yamamoto, Hiroyuki; Aihara, Jun ; Furuno, Shigemi*; Sawa, Kazuhiro; Sakuma, Takashi*; Hojo, Kiichi

Yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) is a candidate material as optical and insulating materials in nuclear reactors. The investigation of defect formation under the ion irradiation is therefore required. In the present study, YSZ was irradiated with 30 keV Ne ions with a flux of 310 ions/cm at 923 K. Compositional changes were analyzed by energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDS) equipped with transmission electron microscope. From the observation of micrographs, it was shown that dislocation loops were formed on three kinds of crystallographic planes, namely, on (110), (111) and (112) planes. The dislocation loops inhabiting on (110) crystal plane were analyzed by EDS along the loops. The average composition between the vicinity of loops and the matrix is compared. On the basis of the obtained results, it is observed composition of oxygen on loops decreases and zirconium increases compared with the matrix.