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Visualization of ultrafast melting initiated from radiation-driven defects in solids
- Source :
- Science Advances, Science Advances, 2019, 5 (5), ⟨10.1126/sciadv.aaw0392⟩
- Publication Year :
- 2019
- Publisher :
- American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2019.
-
Abstract
- Radiation damage lowers the melting point of metal tungsten, an effect that needs to be reckoned with for fusion reactors.<br />Materials exposed to extreme radiation environments such as fusion reactors or deep spaces accumulate substantial defect populations that alter their properties and subsequently the melting behavior. The quantitative characterization requires visualization with femtosecond temporal resolution on the atomic-scale length through measurements of the pair correlation function. Here, we demonstrate experimentally that electron diffraction at relativistic energies opens a new approach for studies of melting kinetics. Our measurements in radiation-damaged tungsten show that the tungsten target subjected to 10 displacements per atom of damage undergoes a melting transition below the melting temperature. Two-temperature molecular dynamics simulations reveal the crucial role of defect clusters, particularly nanovoids, in driving the ultrafast melting process observed on the time scale of less than 10 ps. These results provide new atomic-level insights into the ultrafast melting processes of materials in extreme environments.
- Subjects :
- Materials science
Materials Science
chemistry.chemical_element
02 engineering and technology
Radiation
Tungsten
Radial distribution function
7. Clean energy
01 natural sciences
complex mixtures
Molecular dynamics
0103 physical sciences
Atom
010306 general physics
Research Articles
Multidisciplinary
Physics
technology, industry, and agriculture
SciAdv r-articles
021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology
equipment and supplies
Characterization (materials science)
Electron diffraction
chemistry
Chemical physics
Femtosecond
[PHYS.COND.CM-MS]Physics [physics]/Condensed Matter [cond-mat]/Materials Science [cond-mat.mtrl-sci]
0210 nano-technology
Research Article
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 23752548
- Volume :
- 5
- Issue :
- 5
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Science Advances
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....16aa223eba92f50f8cf04ffecc2b5714