DOE OSTI · 3013541
Abnormal grain growth driven by high-temperature proton irradiation in nanocrystalline Ni
Abstract
In this research we examine a nanocrystalline Ni thin film exposed to high-temperature proton irradiation and compare it with as-deposited and annealed-only counterparts. Despite lacking thermal spikes typical of heavy ions, 400 °C proton irradiation drives pronounced grain growth in select grains, whereas annealing alone yields only modest coarsening. Grain-boundary statistics show fewer low-angle boundaries (10–20°) and more high-angle boundaries (55–60°), consistent with irradiation-enhanced mobility of high-misorientation boundaries. The irradiated films retain a random texture, with no evidence of texture development or sharpening. Mechanisms, such as radiation-enhanced grain boundary diffusion, beam-induced heating, and ion channeling-mediated selective grain growth, are unlikely to be the predominant drivers to explain the resultant microstructure. Instead, we suggest irradiation-induced modifications of grain-boundary structure, including possible complexion transitions, as one plausible explanation for this selective grain growth and retention of random texture. However, additional temperature–dose studies are required to confirm the mechanism.
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Xie, Kelvin Y. [Texas A&M University, College Station, TX (United States)] (ORCID:0000000186755321), Yadav, Digvijay [Texas A&M University, College Station, TX (United States)], Cooper, Kenneth [Texas A&M University, College Station, TX (United States)], Lu, Yu [Boise State University, ID (United States); Center for Advanced Energy Studies, ID (United States)], Howard, Jana [Boise State University, ID (United States); Center for Advanced Energy Studies, ID (United States)], Hansen, Marcus [Texas A&M University, College Station, TX (United States)] (ORCID:0000000263169765), Chauhan, Rijul R. [Texas A&M University, College Station, TX (United States)], Park, JungHun [Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon (South Korea)], Lee, Sunkyung [Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon (South Korea)], Park, Yuhyun [Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon (South Korea)], Phong, Andrew [Texas A&M University, College Station, TX (United States)] (ORCID:0009000069647660), Sim, Gi-Dong [Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon (South Korea)] (ORCID:0000000246126288), Wu, Yaqiao [Boise State University, ID (United States); Center for Advanced Energy Studies, ID (United States)] (ORCID:0000000250410935), Shao, Lin [Texas A&M University, College Station, TX (United States)], Demkowicz, Michael J. [Texas A&M University, College Station, TX (United States)] (ORCID:0000000273053045). 2026-01-18. Abnormal grain growth driven by high-temperature proton irradiation in nanocrystalline Ni. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nimb.2026.166009
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