Ion Beam Application to Nuclear Material Damage Assessment

Abstract

With a substantial rise in world temperature as a result of uncontrolled greenhouse gasses released, particularly by industrialized countries, the need for efficient and economical energy has been increasing, necessitating the addition of the energy mix of one that will not harm the environment. This has pushed the nuclear sector to develop more advanced nuclear power plant systems. Quality materials capable of withstanding extreme radiation doses, high temperatures, and occasionally harsh corrosive conditions are required. This has resulted in the examination of the current materials already in use by earlier generations of the reactor system to determine their usefulness in advanced ones that would be subjected to even tougher environmental conditions than before and also design new materials that are of such strength and abilities. Since it can be accurately regulated and less time-consuming, ion beam technology has been extensively used in accelerator facilities and computer simulations to analyze the radiation deterioration of these materials. This chapter shed further insight into the many applications of ion beam technology in the evaluation of nuclear material damage. Apart from irradiation damage assessment, it also provided some understanding of numerous areas in the nuclear sector where ion beam technology is used.

1. Introduction

1.1 Overview

The ever-increasing population worldwide has put a toll on the need to produce efficient energy at a very fast pace to meet the demand. It is for this reason that the United Nations (UN), in setting its agenda for sustainability for 2030, included Goal 7, which targets affordable, reliable, and clean energy [1]. Moreover, due to the debilitating effect of climate change, most countries are either moving towards nuclear energy or adding nuclear energy to their energy mix to prevent excessive greenhouse gases from the coal used in powering the country’s thermal plants. And this is also geared towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 7 aforementioned by member countries [1]. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Power Reactor Information System (PRIS), as of March 24, 2023, [2] there were 57 nuclear reactors under construction worldwide. China ranked first with 19 units, followed by India, with eight reactors under construction at the time. In all, about 18 countries were constructing at least one reactor unit.

Moreover, as the demand keeps increasing, the need for reliable materials to sustain the needed energy without any incidents, as happened in the cases of Chernobyl, and Fukushima, is on the rise. This has led to the constant assessment of the existing materials and even the design of new, safer, or reliable materials. The assessment of the behavior of these materials, under different conditions and environments, is because the qualities of engineering materials have hindered the performance of power-generating devices since time immemorial. Several of the materials that were employed in the design either failed through corrosion, embrittlement, creep, radiation damage, or fracture, among others. This has led to the suspension or shutdown of some existing reactors.

The nuclear industry, since its early days, has employed several materials in different areas. These nuclear materials depended mostly on the type of reactor plant being designed. But generally, materials are needed for structural/cladding, moderators and reflectors, control, coolant, and shielding for a better and longer operating period for nuclear power plants. Some of the major materials that have been employed over the past years are aluminum, beryllium, magnesium, zirconium, stainless steel, carbon, graphite, boron, cadmium, hafnium, water, concrete, etc. Generally, these materials that are used in nuclear reactor design can be grouped or classified into four categories. Thus, metals, ceramics, polymers, and advanced materials such as semiconductors.

However, due to the harsh corrosive environmental conditions that exist in the nuclear reactor, coupled with the high radiation dose and high temperature, these materials at some point failed or experienced a lot of defects. The formation, distribution, and interaction of point defects (vacancies and interstitials) and their clusters, such as Frenkel pairs (vacancy-interstitial pairs), interstitial loops, voids, vacancy clusters, inert gas bubbles, and radiation-induced dislocation segments and networks were mostly associated with the nature of the defect in crystalline materials. And since no material can escape from such defects or damages, materials are normally subjected to ion beams of equal radiation doses about that of the nuclear reactor to assess their response. The materials are then modified based on these defects from the ion beams, and this is done over and over again to be able to determine the radiation tolerance which will help in advancing the technology and in the design of reactors even for a higher dose and with a prolonged reactor lifespan.

Most of the time these advanced reactors are only designed after the required material types are achieved. And since such reactor technology is not even at the prototype stage, there would not be any such reactor for testing materials except to utilize the likes of accelerators and some computational tools to bombard these materials and vary their compositions to be fit for application in the design of reactors of such technology. This is exactly the procedure that the current generation, Generation IV energy systems, fusion reactor systems, and even the previous generations of reactors are going through or went through. Currently, no fusion neutron irradiation facility exists for materials testing with a fusion spectrum irradiation and it is not easy studying the neutron irradiation effect even in the current reactor systems. Hence, ion beam experiments have therefore been researched by several researchers and it has been employed by most industry players to assess the irradiation effects on materials already employed in the fission spectrum [3, 4].

1.2 Ion beam technology

Ion beams are streams of energetically charged particles that are normally deployed and directed to the surfaces of target materials to interact with the material in various ways and modify the properties of such materials or dope with a thin film [5, 6]. Mostly the level of interaction of these beams depends on the energy and composition of the ions on one hand and the properties of the materials being bombarded on the other hand. The directed ions either remove the material (sputtering) or implant it into the material to change its atomic and molecular arrangements and thereby changing its properties [7]. This technology can be classified as one of the oldest in material design, but several new applications are emerging each passing day as a result of the increase in knowledge of the technology and the high demand for its usage by industry players. The evolution of the industrial regime however led to an increased interest in this new technology worldwide.

Although some powerful inventions that resulted in the design of the accelerator took place around the 1930s, the ion beam technology (IBT) was first used by the US space program in the late 1950 and early 1960s [5]. However, commercial use of the technology was in 1970 in the space field and then it led to the evolution of a superior semiconductor industry which has been instrumental in the materials design and manufacturing sector. Even with the introduction of microelectronics, the interest of researchers and scientists in this area has been phenomenal resulting in several sophisticated materials and designs. Not only has it been used in the area of material science and engineering, but advancement in technology has also led to new fields and new areas of application of the technology in the environment, medicine, biology, semiconductor manufacturing, and space explorations among others.

1.3 Scope of the chapter

This chapter of the book is intended to introduce ion beam technology and its applications, with an emphasis on their usage in nuclear radiation damage assessment to material scientists and engineers who have little or no knowledge in the area. This chapter will cover the application in the nuclear industry and dive into the application in the area of radiation damage assessment. Then, some computational approaches that utilize ion beams in radiation damage assessment will be addressed. Important milestones in the area of application of ion beams to radiation damage assessment will also be unveiled.

2. Applications of ion beam technology in the nuclear industry

In the nuclear industry, IBT has been used in a variety of applications. The technology has been used in sectors such as nuclear medicine, nuclear materials science and engineering, nuclear physics research, nuclear energy generation, and nuclear isotope development, among others. Nonetheless, these applications may be divided into four broad categories: ion beam analysis, isotope production, nuclear fission and fusion research, and ion implantation.

2.1 Ion beam analysis

Ion Beam Analysis is founded on the basic physics of interactions between incident particles and target atoms (IBA) [7, 8]. IBA has been used extensively in the nuclear sector using the four standard methodologies [9]. In the nuclear industry, IBA is usually used in determining the composition of nuclear fuels, undertaking radiation damage studies, characterization of nuclear waste, and investigating nuclear incidents and accidents [10]. Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry (RBS), Elastic Recoil Detection Analysis (ERDA), Nuclear Reaction Analysis (NRA), and Proton-Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE) are the traditional techniques used. The RBS, NRA, and ERDA methods are categorized as nuclear methods, whereas the PIXE method is classified as atomic [7]. Particle-Induced Gamma Ray Emission (PIGE), Charged Particle Activation Analysis (CPAA), Scanning Transmission Ion Microscopy (STIM), Ionoluminescence, Secondary Ion Mass Spectroscopy (SIMS), and Ion Beam Induced Charge imaging (IBIC) are some of the novel methods available.

RBS is one of the nuclear techniques used extensively in the nuclear industry for the investigation of materials’ near-surface layers. It takes its history from Sir Ernest Rutherford’s scattering experiment in 1911 which led to the discovery of the atomic nucleus. The technique is primarily used to quantify the composition of a material and measure the elemental depth profiles [7]. The method’s usual parameters are 1.5 to 14 μm H⁺ or He⁺ ions with energies ranging from 500 keV to 4 MeV. RBS records the elastic backscatter of the projectiles from the sample nuclei. Moreover, the measured energy is influenced by the mass of the target nucleus as well as the depth of the scattering event beneath the surface. It is non-destructive and very sensitive to heavy elements. Usually, an energy-sensitive detector—typically a solid-state detector—records the energy of the backscattered particles. The drawback of the technique is that it requires a combination of other techniques such as NRA and ERDA.

ERDA involves inducing elastic scattering in a material with ion beams. This leads to the determination of the yield and energy of particles ejected out of the surface region of samples under the bombardment [11]. Quantitative measurements from the experiment then help to determine the composition of the material. Elastic recoil detection analysis as was opined earlier normally comes in to complement the RBS. In RBS, the incident particles backscattered from target atoms are detected, whereas, in ERDA, the forward recoil target atoms are rather detected directly. The technique’s application is mostly on depth profiling of multiple light elements.

Nuclear Reaction Analysis as the name suggests is where incident ion beams induce nuclear reactions (radioactivity) which are used to determine the elemental composition of materials. The technique works on the detection of radiation from the interaction of the projectile and nucleus. The NAR technique involves the study of the reactions of hydrogen at the surface and subsurface of materials. Nuclear activation analysis is also another type of NRA used by several facilities to determine the elemental composition of materials. NRA is a good method for measuring the concentration of certain elements (impurity or implanted ions) and their depth distribution in biological samples.

The PIXE technique involves the generation of x-rays as a result of bombarding the material under study with an ion beam [6]. This ion beam displaces electrons in the inner shell thereby forcing electrons in the outer shells to fill the space and in the process dissipates energies in the form of X-ray. The x-ray released characterizes the elemental composition of the material under study. This technique is also non-destructive, works faster, and is accurate.

2.2 Isotope production

One of the most important operations in the nuclear sector is the use of isotopic methods to create radioisotopes and radiopharmaceuticals (atomic energy in peacetime) [12, 13]. As a result, facilities like the Brookhaven Linear Isotope Producer, as well as others across the world, are being built to generate a range of radioisotopes and radiopharmaceuticals for delivery to nuclear medical and industrial communities for research and commercial uses. Additional facilities for isotope manufacturing include research nuclear reactors, accelerator facilities, and a variety of separation facilities. By hitting an element with a particle, radioactive isotopes can be created (a-particle, deuteron, proton, electron, neutron, and even high-energy x-rays). Particle beams of 100 s of MeV energy are typically employed at these facilities to produce these radioisotopes and radiopharmaceuticals for nuclear medicine, pharmaceutical industries, science, environmental agencies, and even industrial purposes.

There are over 1000 radioisotopes routinely generated in industrial facilities, but Technetium-99 m (TC-99 m) has attracted great attention due to its use in medical centers. Almost 10,000 hospitals worldwide today use these isotopes for cancer treatment and a variety of other nuclear medicine therapies [14]. Production is a daily task due to the pace of decay. Because of the enormous demand for these radioisotopes, there are often shortages or unstable supplies of Technetium-99 m (TC-99 m) for brachytherapy.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) occasionally supports and instructs facilities involved in the manufacture of these radioisotopes, particularly research reactors that prefer adding isotope productions to supplement those generated by other isotope production facilities. In Ghana, for example, the Ghana Research Reactor 1 (GHARR-1) is not now capable of creating radionuclides, although it has the capability of doing so shortly.

However, Egypt has been utilizing the Russian 2Mw reactor and a Norwegian-built radioisotope production plant to produce the following radio, isotopes: Iodine-131, sodium-24, potassium-42, chromium-51, phosphorus-32, and colloidal gold-198 since the sixties.

2.3 Nuclear fusion and fission experiments

Ion Beam has been instrumental in the advancement of knowledge in the area of nuclear fusion and fission experiments. Most of the candidate materials that are studied over and over again for the implementation of these new nuclear reactor systems or Generations have been made possible due to innovative techniques employed under this technology. The Generation IV reactors which are to operate at high fluence and even the fusion reactor which is proposed to operate at a 14 MeV neutron source will be too difficult to study candidate materials under such conditions using test reactors [15, 16]. It is therefore good that technologies such as these are available so that accelerator facilities and computer systems can test these materials with ease. Even the cost and time involved in testing the candidate materials with test reactors in the fusion energy regime cannot be overemphasized.

Radiation damage – the production of collision cascades leading to Frenkel pairs formation (Figure 1) leading to the formation of point defects – is well understood through this technology [10]. The technology has helped to identify the levels of damage by different materials and this has even led to the classification of materials for different purposes. For instance, researchers have realized how strong tungsten is and hence recommended it used as the first wall of the fusion reactor system [16]. Even after such recommendations as a prime candidate for the first wall of such a reactor/device a lot of research and testing works are being carried out to affirm its ability to withstand the level of radiation that will be produced.

Figure 1.

Frenkel pairs in crystals of silicon adopted from [17].

Furthermore, the development of IBT, together with advances in knowledge, has resulted in a high pace of research originating from the fields of nuclear fusion and fission [16, 18]. The accelerator facilities have supported and armed researchers with the capability to investigate any material for use in a nuclear reactor without concern. It has relieved the strain of needing to raise criticality in nuclear reactors to test materials, among other things.

2.4 Ion implantation

The availability of IBT has also resulted in the creation of a variety of materials used in the nuclear sector. Ion implantation is the bombardment of accelerated ionized atoms (ion beams) or molecules to the surface of a material (target) to change its surface properties without changing their bulk properties [7, 19, 20] and render it suitable for use in various settings. This technique is generally carried out at a lower temperature. Ion implantation is used to develop new surface alloys and adjust surface-related attributes like hardness, toughness, fatigue, adhesion, wear, friction, dielectric properties, magnetic properties, and superconductivity as well as material corrosion resistance [21]. Ion beam coatings have also been shown to increase the mechanical, electrical, chemical, and tribological characteristics of materials used in industry. Improved material qualities are the foundation of better materials for production and design [22].

The use of this technology has been present for decades and continues to increase, particularly in the current period when practically every item is being reduced and so requires multiple microelectronic components. Long before the nuclear industry used ion implantation, the semiconductor industry was known to have employed this method to process semiconductor production components [23]. Nevertheless, the use of IBT in the nuclear sector has resulted in a plethora of unique research projects and methodologies, resulting in the industry’s expansion in delivering novel materials for design purposes. Whereas the previous generation of nuclear power plants limited the use of electronic devices to an unavoidable extent, recent nuclear plants rely on electronics not only in digital computers and process control systems in a mild environment but also in harsh radiation conditions.

Several approaches to ion doping are employed by the industry. Some of the few ones are Ion Implantation (II), Ion Beam Mixing (IBM), Ion Beam Assisted Deposition (IBAD), Plasma Source Ion Implantation (PSII), Plasma Source Ion Deposition (PSID), Metal Vapor Vacuum Arc (MEVVA). These approaches have their pros and cons making them accepted in different spheres. All of these and many other approaches have been widely employed in the ion implantation of materials for industrial purposes. The approach chosen will be determined by the target material and the sort of testing being performed.

Another important use of Ion Beam Technology in the nuclear sector is radiation damage assessment. As a result, the next section will go over the topic in depth.

3. Ion beam technology applications in nuclear material damage assessment

As mentioned in the section on the employment of ion beams in nuclear fusion and fission experiments, IBT has proven a strong instrument in the evaluation of radiation damage. It’s tempting to assume that the development of IBT has made studying radiation damage or irradiation processes conceivable. Because of the convenience and low cost of the IBT, several research activities and initiatives have been done in measuring nuclear radiation damage to nuclear materials. Ion beams are being used to assess material performance for nuclear energy applications at a rapid pace because ion irradiations produce radiation effects data that is directly relevant to understanding neutron-induced displacement damage [3]. Generally, the IBT is employed for:

1. Radiation Damage Characterization

2. Radiation hardness testing

3. Radiation damage mitigations

4. Dosimetry

3.1 Radiation damage characterization

Characterization of irradiation effects in materials using heavy or lesser ion beams is not new; it has been used for more than a decade. Tests with protons, for example, have gotten a lot of attention. Such experiments have been used as stand-ins for research into radiation in various nuclear materials. Yet, as the year passes and materials continue to fail under particular situations, the necessity to identify new materials to fit into such applications becomes more critical. Some programs and earlier studies have been successful in identifying materials suitable for use in nuclear reactor system design using the IBT.

Positron Annihilation Spectroscopy (PAS) experiments have also been used effectively to evaluate radiation damage in nuclear materials. Sabelová et al. [24] used positron annihilation techniques to analyze helium-implanted Fe-Cr alloys. Similarly, A review study by [25] stipulated and disclosed a lot of work on the use of positron annihilation in characterizing materials when it comes to radiation damage. The employment of a positron, according to the study by [25], is the only investigation that can precisely determine the size, concentration, and chemical makeup of individual atomic vacancies, as well as microscopic and large vacancy clusters formed by irradiation. The PAS was further supported by the study due to its extraordinary sensitivity to lattice defects. Doppler broadening spectroscopy, which refers to the widening of spectral lines induced by the Doppler effect, has also been utilized extensively together with PAS to evaluate materials.

Another approach used to characterize radiation damage in materials is a focused ion beam (FIB) [26, 27, 28]. It is comparable to Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), which has long been used in this capacity, but whereas SEM employs a focused beam of electrons to photograph the material in the chamber, a FIB apparatus utilizes a concentrated beam of ions. FIB may also be used in systems that include both electron and ion beam columns, enabling the same feature to be examined with either beam. It is one of the current applications of ion beams in characterization which is mostly deployed in the health sector but it is equally important in the spheres of nuclear materials damage assessment.

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), atom probe tomography (APT), synchrotron radiation methods, micro-X-ray diffraction (XRD), and small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) are all potent techniques used to characterize radiation damage. All of these approaches use ion beam technology throughout the characterization process.

3.2 Radiation hardness testing

In the process of hardening components or materials for their use in the nuclear reactor especially where the nuclear flux is expected to be very high and with high-energy level photons, a procedure called radiation hardness testing is used. This procedure normally looks similar to the characterization of radiation damage as described in the previous section, however, in this case, the hardness of the material is the main objective for the test and nothing else. The material is subjected to a beam of ions to measure the response to that exposure. A certain elemental constituent is changed (either reduced in amount or increased) and then the new material is subjected to the same treatment again until the best material with the needed hardness is achieved.

Radiation hardness testing has been widely used in the spacecraft sector to ensure that materials for spacecraft can endure nuclear particle bombardment from both onboard and external sources [4]. Additional locations with radiation levels high enough to pose a risk to electronics are nuclear and high-energy physics experiments, as well as irradiation facilities in general, such as particle accelerators and nuclear reactors. Radiation hardness studies are particularly important for electronic instrumentation for patients’ irradiation in cancer therapy.

It is critical to investigate a material’s hardness before using it as a component in a reactor design, especially now that the reactor system is being shrunk to the point where semiconductors may be used. This is because the cost-effectiveness of such a technique cannot be compared to using a certain weak material and replacing it quickly due to its inability to withstand the reactor’s specified life duration.

3.3 Radiation damage mitigations

Because of their capacity to create regulated levels of displacement damage under well-defined experimental settings, ion beam irradiations are chosen over neutron irradiations for many radiation effects research. Following that, ion beams aimed at a certain angle and with a regulated degree of displacement damage assist to rearrange the crystal lattice arrangement of these materials, giving them improved attributes appropriate for selection in nuclear reactor designs. This approach helps to mitigate the foreseeable damage of these materials when subjected to such harsh conditions.

As has been opined in the previous sections, ion beam technology is a major tool to mitigate the issue of radiation damage. This is through the process of assessing its suitability even before using it. Through the IBT, significant compressive surface stresses are produced which will partially compensate for externally imposed tensile stresses and lengthen component life against creep or fatigue failure by surface-initiated cracking.

In general, the significant information offered by radiation damage characterization and hardness testing level aids in the reduction of radiation damage in nuclear applications. It acts as a buffer against any unanticipated event or being caught off guard in any way. Moreover, it helps to decide on the dose of ion beams to introduce into the material to cause the required resistance.

3.4 Dosimetry

The rate at which materials absorb radiation is also critical in a high-radiation environment. As a result, ion beam technology is commonly used to examine how these nuclear materials absorb various types of radiation. The designer will then know where to put which material. Each component of the nuclear reactor system and its function; some absorb, some reflect, some moderate fast neutrons, while others prevent leakage. A material may qualify for leakage protection yet not be suitable for absorbing neutrons in the form of a control rod and vice versa.

Dosimetry is critical in advanced reactor designs, whether fission or fusion because the reactor systems are expected to sustain damage exceeding 30 dpa and to operate at temperatures ranging from 500 to 1000°C. And this type of damage and environment need tougher materials that will work properly and persist for the extended amount of time that modern reactors will be in operation. Even today’s reactors, which have an average operational lifetime of roughly 40 years, are experiencing material wear and creep, let alone the expected 60 years [29].

Irradiation simulations are yet another key use of ion beam technology. Let us now have an overview of that.

4. Simulation techniques for ion beam technology application in radiation damage assessment

The nuclear business has also been significantly impacted by technological breakthroughs. The development of computers in the 20th century has been beneficial to nuclear scientists not only in the field of irradiation damage assessment but also in fields like thermal hydraulics, reactor control systems, and reactor operations, among others [30, 31, 32, 33, 34]. There are currently several computer programs and software packages available to conduct various nuclear industry simulations, particularly in damage assessments [30]. As a result of the computer’s improved speed and memory capacity, carrying out such simulations is never a hassle for a researcher. The only thing needed from experimenters is an understanding of the ideas underlying the simulation and how the program functions.

Furthermore, damage evaluations performed using computer simulations are primarily due to the convenience and cost-effectiveness that experimenters find in simulating a condition on a computer rather than a testing facility. Additionally, with the aid of computer simulations, the atomistic level of the damage could be assessed easily as well. The good news is that in testing facilities, one may not be able to control every condition that could affect the assessment and must therefore rely on some assumptions. Yet, in the case of computer simulations or experiments, the researcher has control over the variables and so chooses the level of information necessary. For example, when modeling mechanical damage caused by radiation, COMSOL Multiphysics or ANSYS will provide all of the options. The size of the substance, the kind of radiation, and the other variables are all easily controllable. You may bombard the material with mixed radiations, add high temperatures, humidity, and other nuclear reactor-related variables, and run it all at the same time. Nevertheless, in the case of the accelerator, all of these requirements may not be present, thus certain assumptions must be made to account for this.

Many approaches, as illustrated in Figure 2, are available for modeling radiation damage at any level, whether atomic, molecular, or continuum. The various methodologies utilized in assessing material damage are for the continuum case Finite Element Methods (FEM) and Dislocation Dynamics (DD), and that of the atomistic [33] and molecular levels as Ab-initio, Kinetic Monte Carlo (KMC), Monte Carlo (MC), Binary Collision Analysis (BCA), and Classical Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations [4, 10, 32].

Figure 2.

Illustration of typical radiation damage simulations techniques across multiple lengths and timescales adopted from [33].

Ion beam technology has been used in some form or another in practically all of the techniques mentioned above. Apart from approaches for the continuum and dislocation states, which do not usually entail bombardment of the crystal lattice of these materials, the atomic and molecular dynamics phases have undergone considerable investigations that have extensively used the IBT. Although this chapter will not discuss in depth these methods, they have undergone considerable studies and research and hence the need to mention them in this chapter.

5. Important historical milestone of ion beam technology applications to nuclear radiation damage assessment

For researching radiation damage in materials, ion beam technology has been widely deployed. Some significant milestones so far in the development of ion beam technology applications for nuclear radiation damage assessments include:

1. Initial experiments: Researchers began utilizing ion beams to explore the effects of radiation damage on materials in the 1960s and 1970s. These early studies focused on simulating the effects of neutron irradiation on materials using ion beams [5].

2. Defect formation: Ion beam technology was utilized to explore the creation of flaws in materials during irradiation in the 1980s and 1990s. Ion beams were used by researchers to induce flaws in materials that were comparable to those formed by neutron irradiation.

3. Effects of irradiation on thin films: In the 1990s, ion beam technology was utilized to investigate the effects of irradiation on thin films. Researchers were able to induce flaws in thin films with ion beams and investigate the subsequent changes in their characteristics.

4. Focused ion beam (FIB): FIB technology was developed in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Researchers were able to induce extremely localized damage in materials using FIB technology, which was valuable for researching the impact of radiation damage on specific sections of material [26, 27, 28].

5. Microscopy Methods: In the 2000s and 2010s, ion beam technology was utilized in conjunction with microscopy techniques such as transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to investigate the effects of radiation damage on nanoscale materials.

6. High-energy ion beams: In recent years, researchers have developed high-energy ion beam technology that allows them to explore the effects of radiation damage in materials at even greater energies and dosages.

7. Detailed mechanism: For the deployment of new, highly controlled in situ interrogation of materials during irradiation to provide dynamic and mechanistic data for model development, the Nuclear Science User Facilities recently submitted a roadmap for the development and improvement of current U.S. ion beam irradiation technologies in university and national laboratory settings [3].

8. AI application to irradiation damage: Machine learning is currently being employed in understanding the irradiation mechanism of high-entropy materials [35].

6. Summary of findings

Ion beam applications have been widely employed in the assessment of nuclear material damage. High-energy ion beams are used to simulate the effects of neutron irradiation on nuclear materials, and the ensuing damage is examined using various analytical techniques. Ion beams have significant benefits over typical neutron irradiation techniques in assessing nuclear material damage. When compared to neutron irradiation, ion beams may be accurately regulated and damage can be generated in a shorter amount of time.

Moreover, ion beams enable the investigation of particular damage processes, which is not always attainable and has led to a better understanding of the fundamental processes involved in neutron irradiation. Ion beam applications have been utilized to investigate a variety of materials, including metals, ceramics, and composites. The findings have improved our understanding of the underlying mechanisms involved in radiation damage and the impact of radiation on material characteristics. As a result, ion beam applications have proven to be invaluable tools in assessing nuclear material damage. The technology has allowed researchers to explore the effects of radiation on materials at a fundamental level, which is critical for the development of novel materials for use in nuclear reactors and other uses.