Atomic structure of nano voids in irradiated 3C-SiC

Abstract It is important to understand the atomic structure of defect clusters in SiC, a promising material for nuclear application. In this study, we have directly observed and identified nano voids in ion irradiated 3C-SiC at 800 °C, 20 dpa through ABF and HAADF STEM images. A quantitative method was used to analyze HAADF images in which atomic columns with a difference in the number of atoms could be identified and scattered intensities can be computed. Our result shows that these voids are composed of atomic vacancies in an octahedral arrangement. The density of the void was measured by STEM to be 9.2 × 10 19 m −3 and the size was ∼1.5 nm.