Evolution of extended defects in polycrystalline Au-irradiated UO2 using in situ TEM: Temperature and fluence effects

After this transformation, and for all the irradiation temperatures, a steady state equilibrium is reached where both extended defects (dislocation lines and small dislocations loops -around 5 nm in size-) are observed simultaneously. A continuous nucleation of small dislocation loops and of nanometer-sized cavities formed directly by irradiation is also highlighted.