PNNL

Abstract

The interaction of displacement cascades with helium-vacancy clusters is investigated using molecular dynamics simulations. The He-vacancy clusters initially consist of 20 vacancies with a Helium-to-vacancy ratio ranging from 0.2 to 3. The primary knock-on atom (PKA) energy, Ep, varies from 2 keV to 10 keV, and the PKA direction is chosen such that a displacement cascade is able to directly interact with a helium-vacancy cluster. The simulation results show that the effect of displacement cascades on a helium-vacancy cluster strongly depends on both the helium-to-vacancy ratio and the PKA energy. For the same PKA energy, the size of helium-vacancy clusters increases with the He/V ratio, but for the same ratio, the cluster size changes more significantly with increasing PKA energy. It has been observed that the He-vacancy clusters can be dissolved when the He/V ratio less than 1, but they are able to re-nucleate during the thermal spike phase, forming small He-V nuclei. When the He/V ratio is larger than 1, the He-V clusters can absorb a number of vacancies produced by displacement cascades, forming larger He-V clusters. These results are discussed in terms of PKA energy, helium-to-vacancy ratio, number of vacancies produced by cascades, and mobility of helium atoms.