New mechanism for radiation defect production and aggregation in crystalline ceramics

In many ceramic solids, the number of primary displaced ions is different for different sublattice components, either because the ion masses and displacement energies differ in simple binary collisions (like in alumina) or because radiolytic displacements occur on a single sublattice (like in halides). However, irradiation produces not only metal colloids or gas precipitates, but stoichiometric dislocation loops, and voids as well. We propose a secondary displacement mechanism of vacancy production at a dislocation as a result of its interaction with a primary interstitial ion in another sublattice which explains the observed phenomena. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.