A kinetic Monte Carlo approach for the analysis of trapping effect on the defect accumulation in neutron-irradiated Fe

The trapping effect of self-interstitial atom (SIA) clusters in neuron-irradiated Fe was analyzed in terms of generic traps. The effect of the cut-off size between sessile and glissile SIA clusters was investigated. The accumulation of SIA clusters decreased drastically as the cut-off size increased, which originated from the elimination of the SIA clusters at a grain boundary through its one-dimensional motion. When the immobile generic traps were introduced to the kinetic Monte Carlo simulation model, the effect of trap parameters was assessed. An increase in the binding energy between the trap and SIA-species resulted in a decrease in the number of mono-SIAs that were dissociated from the trap and a corresponding delay in visible SIA clusters. The size-dependent prefactor for the dissociation rate of trapped SIA clusters was necessary for a realistic accumulation behavior of SIA clusters. The trap density affects the density and size of the accumulated SIA cluster density during irradiation. This parameterization of generic traps provided insight into the mechanism of accumulation of SIA and SIA cluster.