The Temperature Dependence of Void and Bubble Formation and Growth in Aluminium during 600 MeV Proton Irradiation

As a part of a continuing program, we report in the present paper results obtained from irradiating pure aluminium samples in the PIREX facility installed in the 600 MeV proton beam of the accelerator at the Swiss Institute for Nuclear Research (SIN). The aluminium foils have been irradiated at 8 different temperatures in the range from 130°–430°C, to displacement doses of up to 5 dpa and helium contents of over 1000 appm. The TEM examinations have shown that at all irradiation temperatures and displacement doses, helium bubbles are formed uniformly through the whole grain interior. No voids are observed at temperatures above 160° C. At all temperatures, irradiation induced dislocations have been observed, most of them linked to bubbles. At higher temperatures and doses, clear evidence of irradiation induced precipitation has been observed; the precipitates are normally decorated with helium bubbles.