Effect of phosphorus on vacancy-type defect behaviour in electron-irradiated Ni studied by positron annihilation

Very dilute Ni-P system (containing 50-240 appm phosphorus) irradiated by 5 MeV electrons at various temperatures (270-543 K) was studied by positron annihilation spectroscopy (PAS) and the electrical resistivity measurements. Under irradiation at 270 K (below stage III in Ni), the accumulation of the monovacancies in the Ni-P system is 1.5-2.0 times greater than that in pure Ni irradiated in the same conditions. This fact attests to the strong interaction between P atoms and self-interstitial atoms (SIAs). As a result of the non-mobile SIA-P complexes formation, the mutual recombination of point defects is suppressed and the vacancy accumulation is, respectively, enhanced. During post-irradiation annealing, the vacancy migration induces the transport process of the phosphorus atoms and leads to the formation of the vacancy clusters decorated with P atoms. The annealing behaviour of the defect structures in Ni-P systems after irradiation at enhanced temperatures was also studied. The influence of phosphorus on the formation and further evolution of the vacancy aggregates decrease with increasing of the irradiation temperature.