TEM investigation of irradiation damage in single crystal CeO2

In order to understand the evolution of radiation damage in oxide nuclear fuel, 150–1000 keV Kr ions were implanted into single crystal CeO2, as a simulation of fluorite ceramic UO2, while in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observations were carried out. Two characteristic defect structures were investigated: dislocation/dislocation loops and nano-size gas bubbles.The growth behavior of defect clusters induced by 1 MeV Kr ions up to doses of 5 × 1015 ions/cm2 were followed at 600 °C and 800 °C. TEM micrographs clearly show the development of defect structures: nucleation of dislocation loops, transformation to extended dislocation lines, and the formation of tangled dislocation networks. The difference in dislocation growth rates at 600 °C and 800 °C revealed the important role which Ce–vacancies play in the loop formation process. Bubble formation, studied through 150 keV Kr implantations at room temperature and 600 °C, might be influenced by either the mobility of metal–vacancies correlated with at threshold temperature or the limitation of gas solubility as a function of temperature.