Exceptional radiation resistance of hardened amorphous SiC under high-temperature hydrogen ion implantation

作者：S. Che, Limin Zhang, N. Daghbouj, Weilin Jiang, Tomáš Polcar, Runmin Ji, Rongshan Wang, Tieshan Wang · 发表于：Journal of the European Ceramic Society · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1016/j.jeurceramsoc.2025.117459 · 被引用次数：6 · 研究领域：Diamond and Carbon-based Materials Research、Advanced ceramic materials synthesis、Metal and Thin Film Mechanics

This study provides a compelling comparison of the structural and mechanical responses of single-crystal silicon carbide (sc-SiC), nanocrystalline silicon carbide (nc-SiC), and amorphous silicon carbide (am-SiC) to hydrogen ion implantation at 650 ℃ across varying fluences . While both sc-SiC and nc-SiC exhibit blistering, microcracking, and exfoliation, am-SiC remains free of blisters, demonstrating superior resilience. Notably, nc-SiC, with its high density of stacking faults (SFs), requires a higher fluence to initiate blistering compared to sc-SiC. In sc-SiC, blistering leads to increased hardness, whereas in nc-SiC, the degradation of the SF structure results in a reduction in hardness. In contrast, am-SiC undergoes structural relaxation during irradiation, resulting in a significant increase in hardness while maintaining its structural integrity, with only the formation of nano-sized spherical bubbles observed. These findings highlight the exceptional suitability of am-SiC for nuclear applications, where resistance to radiation-induced microcracking is critical.