Application of EBSD as a method for analyzing irradiation damage in ceramics

Fujimura, Yuki; Ishikawa, Norito   ; Kondo, Keietsu  

While ceramic materials exhibit high temperature strength and corrosion resistance, they are also chemically stable. Specifically, aluminum oxide (AlO) is recognized as one of the highly radiation resistant materials. On the other hand, the precise evaluation of irradiation damage in these materials poses a significant challenge because detecting radiation damage induced in highly radiation-resistant ceramics is difficult. The objective of this study is to evaluate irradiation-induced lattice strain using Electron BackScatter Diffraction (EBSD), a technique commonly employed for damage analysis in metals. Ion irradiation tests were conducted on AlO, a representative highly radiation-resistant ceramic, at various doses. Through lattice strain analysis using EBSD, we successfully identified irradiation-induced lattice strain in the direction parallel to the irradiation, consistent with previous XRD analysis results. Lattice strain in the direction perpendicular to the irradiation was also detected. It was observed that the lattice strain tends to increase with increasing irradiation damage. In conclusion, lattice strain analysis using EBSD proves to be an effective method for assessing the irradiation effects on ceramics.