Ion-irradiation-induced athermal annealing of helium bubbles in SiC

Swelling and stacking fault formation in helium implanted SiC

“…1. The formation of extended defects (such as platelet-like cavities) has also been reported after high energy ion-irradiation or additional annealing on a pre-existing buried layer of small helium bubbles [28]. In that case, point defect migration and trapping are also mentioned.…”

In situ TEM investigations of the microstructural changes and radiation tolerance in SiC nanowhiskers irradiated with He ions at high temperatures

“…When these interstitials loops migrate to the nearby sink, they leave behind a high saturation of vacancies within the sample matrix. Helium has very low solubility in SiC and therefore will interact with vacancies and precipitates leading to bubble nucleation [58] which are seen as white spots in the underfocus images. The bubble size increases with temperature and at 1000°C both interstitial He and He-V complexes are highly mobile [41] which enhances the growth of these bubbles.…”