Radiation-induced cavities in aluminium alloy imaged by in line electron holography

Abstract

In irradiated material, cavities result from the condensation of vacancies induced by collision cascades. The study of their formation is a relevant topic since a high density of cavities may alter significantly the material performance. In this work, a simplified version of in line holography was successfully applied for imaging cavities in ion-irradiated 6061 aluminium alloy. In transmission electron microscopy, the incoming electrons experience a phase shift owing to the potential variation induced by the cavities. The retrieval of this phase shift provides a convenient map to observe and highlight the cavities. Information on density of cavities can be easily obtained. In addition, interstitial clusters may also be detected.

Keywords:

• Electron holography
• aluminium alloy
• cavities
• ion irradiation

Acknowledgement

Irradiations at SRMP-JANNUS Saclay were performed, thanks to the funding of the EMIR network.