Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Radiation Effects and Defects in Solids, 2025 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
ZrN thin films deposited on Zircaloy and 304L SS substrates were successfully elaborated using the high-power impulse magnetron (HPIM) sputtering technique and irradiated with 91.3 MeV Xe ions. Our aim is to emulate ZrN film tolerance to fission fragment defects. Xe ion irradiations were performed at GANIL accelerator, Caen, France, in the fluence range of 1 × 1012 cm−2−8 × 1013 cm−2. After irradiation, the films were characterized using grazing-incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), positron annihilation spectroscopy (PAS), and nanoindentation techniques. The results revealed that 91.3 MeV improves the crystallinity. A weak contraction is observed at a low irradiation regime lower than a critical fluence of φc = 1 × 1013 cm−2, which is then restored beyond φ ≥ 2 × 1013 cm−2 due to the defects annealing in grain boundaries as confirmed by PAS analysis. The crystallite size is reduced, and the lattice strain increases. No sensible modification in the nanohardness and Young’s modulus was observed. So, ZrN thin films exhibit no important change against swift heavy ions (equivalent to fission fragments) damage. Therefore, it can be used in nuclear applications. The obtained results also encourage research on the use of ZrN films as a protective layer to mitigate steel corrosion in the environment of advanced reactors, particularly lead–bismuth eutectic coolant.