title: Radiation-induced amorphization resistance and radiation tolerance in structurally related oxides.
abstract: Ceramics destined for use in hostile environments such as nuclear reactors or waste immobilization must be highly durable and especially resistant to radiation damage effects. In particular, they must not be prone to amorphization or swelling. Few ceramics meet these criteria and much work has been devoted in recent years to identifying radiation-tolerant ceramics and the characteristics that promote radiation tolerance. Here, we examine trends in radiation damage behaviour for families of compounds related by crystal structure. Specifically, we consider oxides with structures related to the fluorite crystal structure. We demonstrate that improved amorphization resistance characteristics are to be found in compounds that have a natural tendency to accommodate lattice disorder.
authors.affiliation: Materials Science and Technology Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA.
authors.forename: Kurt E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Sickafus
authors.forename: Robin W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Grimes
authors.forename: James A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Valdez
authors.forename: Antony
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cleave
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Manabu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ishimaru
authors.forename: Siobhan M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Corish
authors.forename: Christopher R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Stanek
authors.forename: Blas P
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Uberuaga