DEFECT PRODUCTION IN CERAMICS

A review is given of several important defect production and accumulat ion parameters fur irradiated ceramics. Materials covered in this revi ew include alumina, magnesia, spinel, silicon carbide, silicon nitride , aluminum nitride and diamond. Whereas threshold displacement energie s for many ceramics are known within a reasonable level of uncertainty (with notable exceptions being AlN and Si3N4), relatively little info rmation exists on the equally important parameters oi surviving defect fraction (defect production efficiency) and point defect migration en ergies for must ceramics. Very little fundamental displacement damage information is available for nitride ceramics. The role of subthreshol d irradiation on defect migration and microstructural evolution is als o briefly discussed. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.