In-situ transmission electron microscopy study of ion-irradiated copper : comparison of the temperature dependence of cascade collapse in FCC- and BCC- metals.

The kinetics which drive cascade formation and subsequent collapse into point-defect clusters is investigated by analyzing the microstructure produced in situ by low fluence 100 keV Kr ion irradiations of fcc-Cu over a wide temperature range (18-873 K). The yield of collapsed point-defect clusters is demonstrated unequivocally to be temperature dependent, remaining approximately constant up to lattice temperatures of 573 K and then abruptly decreasing with increasing temperature. This drop in yield is not caused by defect loss during or following ion irradiation. This temperature dependence can be explained by a thermal spike effect. These in-situ yield measurements are compared to previous ex-situ yield measurements in fcc-Ni and bcc-Mo