Abstract
A mastering system was constructed and installed on the current low energy accelerator of the Ion Beam Laboratory in the Department of Nuclear Engineering. Galium was implanted into heated zircaloy targets at nuances of 3x10¹⁷, 1x10¹⁷ and 1x10¹⁶ ions/cm². Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) using 260 keV alpha particles was used to determine the initial estimates of gallium concentration. Energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and backscattered electron (BSE) imaging was performed to examine concentration and surface morphology, respectively. Zirconium was then implanted to simulate the radiation effects of fission fragments at a fluency of 1.0x10¹⁷ Zr atoms/cm². RBS results showed enhanced diffusion and indicate saturation of the gallium concentration. Results also showed the possible formation of a Ga-Zr compound.
Mitchell, Lee Josey (1999). Interactions of gallium with zircaloy cladding. Master's thesis, Texas A&M University. Available electronically from
https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /ETD -TAMU -1999 -THESIS -M579.