The influence of non-equilibrium fluctuations on radiation damage and recovery of metals under irradiation

In the conventional theory of radiation damage, it is assumed that the main effect of irradiation is due to formation of Frenkel pairs of vacancies and self-interstitial atoms (SIAs) and their clusters. The difference in absorption of vacancies and SIAs by primary or radiation-induced extended defects (EDs) is thought to be the main reason of microstructural evolution under irradiation. On the other hand, the recovery of radiation damage is thought to be driven exclusively by thermal fluctuations resulting in the vacancy evaporation from voids (void annealing) or dislocations (thermal creep) and in the fluctuation-driven overcoming of obstacles by gliding dislocations (plastic strain). However, these recovery mechanisms can be efficient only at sufficiently high temperatures. At lower irradiation temperatures, the main driving force of the recovery processes may be due to nonequilibrium fluctuations of energy states of the atoms surrounding EDs arising as a result of scattering of radiation-induced excitations of atomic and electronic structure at EDs. In the present paper, the mechanisms of nonequilibrium fluctuations that result in such phenomena as the void shrinkage under irradiation at low temperatures (or high dose rates), irradiation creep and irradiation-induced increase of plasticity under sub-threshold irradiation was considered.