Experimental comparison of the (ODS)EUROFER steels implanted by helium ions and irradiated in spallation neutron target

Abstract The microstructure of EUROFER and ODS-EUROFER has been characterized by means of positron annihilation spectroscopy (PAS) with a particular focus on the effect of irradiation conditions. Two different irradiation experiments have been used to introduced helium-filled cavities in the studied materials. Materials irradiated in spallation neutron target SINQ have been investigated by conventional positron annihilation spectroscopy, while helium-implanted samples of the same materials have been investigated by slow positron beam technique. With this approach, we were able to obtain a significant amount of positron lifetime and Doppler broadening data and evaluate them with respect to the dpa, irradiation temperature and helium concentration effects. Both types of irradiation experiments confirm a more pronounced creation of growing open-volume defects for the Eurofer steel, comparing to its ODS variant. The bubble-to-void transformation was indirectly but clearly confirmed by the Eurofer specimens. In the case of the ODS Eurofer, the coalescence of helium bubbles, accompanied by saturation of positron mean-lifetime and/or S parameter, was not so evident. This present study provides the first experimental positron annihilation data, showing the onset of void formation in ODS steels.