In situ X-ray diffraction study of irradiation-induced lattice expansion in Al foils by MeV-energy heavy ions

Using in situ X-ray diffraction measurements, we investigate lattice deformations of a free-standing aluminum foil induced by irradiation with MeV-energy heavy projectiles (C, O, and Si ions). The dependence of the ion-beam flux on the lattice expansion is analyzed in terms of two types of irradiation effects: (i) electronic excitation collision-induced lattice heating and (ii) elastic collision-induced displacement damage. We observe that the change in the lattice parameter is proportional to the energy in lattice heating, irrespective of projectile species. This result is in good agreement with a model calculation for thermal lattice expansion caused by beam heating. Moreover, with the correlation between lattice expansion and displacement damage, we consider a simple model for lattice expansion originating from the accumulation of Frenkel defects. From the model, we obtained the relationship between the relative changes in lattice parameter and the value of displacement per atom (dpa) rate. A comparison of the results from model calculations and experiments shows that the dpa rate calculated from the model, which takes account of athermal defect-recombination, is strongly correlated with the change in lattice parameter. This result suggests that the concentration of surviving defects under irradiation diminishes because of spontaneous recombination of defects produced.