Nanoindentation and transmission electron microscopy of ion-irradiated iron-chromium alloys

Ion irradiations combined with nanoindentation provide a means to characterize irradiation damage in a wide range of irradiation temperature and fluence. Nanoindentation results are reported for Fe-2.5at%Cr, Fe9at%Cr and Fe-12.5at%Cr irradiated at 300°C up to 1 and 10 dpa. The effect of Cr content and fluence are discussed. Hardening features were characterized by means of transmission electron microscopy. The ion-induced damage is compared with the damage created by neutron irradiation for the same alloys.