Effects of fission product incorporation on the microstructure of cubic zirconia

Cesium, iodine and strontium ions have been implanted into yttria-stabilize d cubic zirconia (YSZ) to determine the effects of fission product incorpor ation in YSZ that is considered as an inert nuclear fuel matrix. The ion im plantation was conducted at room temperature to 1 x 10(21) ions/m(2) for ea ch ion with ion energies ranging from 70 to 400 keV. The peak displacement damage level and the peak ion concentration in YSZ reached 205-330 displace ment per atoms (dpa) and 11-26 at.%, respectively. The microstructure of th e implanted YSZ was studied by in situ and cross-sectional transmission ele ctron microscopy (TEM). In the iodine and strontium implanted samples, a da maged layer with a high density of defect clusters was observed, while in t he cesium implanted specimen, most of the damaged layer is amorphous. Nanoc rystalline precipitates were observed in the strontium implanted specimen a fter annealing at 1273 K. The results are discussed in terms of the ionic s ize, mobility and the solubility of the implanted species in YSZ. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.