Characterization of aluminum nitride material under swift heavy ion irradiations

Description

For Generation IV reactors, and more particularly the Gas Fast Reactor, aluminum nitride is an interesting candidate for the application as fuel coating; actually, its great thermal conductivity should allow efficient thermal transfer between the fuel pellets and the coolant. Unfortunately, few data are available on its behavior under irradiation. In this study, we attempted to understand the effect of irradiation parameters on the defect creation thanks to thermally-stimulated luminescence and optical absorption spectrophotometry. Thus, we didn't note any new defect created by the irradiation and the fact that these techniques complement each other allowed to know the influence of each irradiation parameter on the defects concentration.

Abstract

International audience

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