Defect clusters formed from large collision cascades in fcc metals irradiated with spallation neutrons

Fcc pure metals were irradiated with spallation neutrons (energies up to 500 MeV) at room temperature to a neutron fluence of 1 × 10¹⁸ n m^-2 at KENS, High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK). Defect clusters induced by large collision cascades were examined using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). In Au, large groups of defects included more than 10 clusters, and the damage zone extended over 50 nm, which was larger than that induced by fusion neutron irradiation (<20 nm). Although small stacking fault tetrahedra (SFT) are formed in subcascades by fission and fusion neutron irradiation, dislocation loops were also observed in the present experiments. Large dislocation loops (>10 nm) were identified as vacancy type by the conventional inside-outside contrast method. Because of the low neutron fluence, spatial overlapping of collision cascades was ignored. Large vacancy loops are formed through cooperative reactions among subcascades in a single collision cascade with large recoil energy.