Irradiation tolerance of amorphous SiOC/crystalline Fe composite

We examined the radiation tolerance of amorphous silicon oxycarbide (SiOC) and crystalline Fe composite by using ion irradiation and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The Fe/SiOC multilayer thin films were grown via magnetron sputtering with controlled length scale on a surface oxidized Si (100) substrate. These alloys were irradiated by 120 keV He+ ions to a damage level of ~1.3 displacements per atom (dpa) at room temperature. TEM characterization shows neither sign of point defect clusters in Fe layer, nor an indication of crystallization or new phase formation in SiOC layer. Our findings suggest that the crystalline/amorphous interface and Fe grain boundary can help to annihilate point defects generated during irradiation, and therefore enhance radiation tolerance properties.