Radiation-induced extreme elastic and inelastic interactions in concentrated solid solutions

One of the biggest challenges in the radiation induced defect science is to understand the complex nature of ion-atom interactions under highly extreme conditions. Here, we report the irradiation induced non-equilibrium defect formation in NiCoCr single phase concentrated solid solution alloy due to (i) the extreme inelastic and (ii) the coupled inelastic and elastic ion-atom interactions. These two conditions are achieved at 5 and 30 μm penetration depths along the paths of swift heavy ions (1.542 GeV Bi). In general, the irradiation induced damage consists of interstitial-type dislocation loops and vacancy-type stacking fault tetrahedra (SFT). Near the surface (~5 μm) where electronic energy loss is dominating (~62.5 keV nm⁻¹), the atomic motion primarily results in the formation of SFT. A noticeable increase of dislocation loop formation is observed at 30 μm near the maximum energy deposition from elastic interactions (~4.9 keV nm⁻¹), as compared to the near surface region (~0.06 keV nm⁻¹). Insights on the complex electronic and atomic correlations of extreme energy deposition and dissipation on defect dynamics and structural stability may pave the way for new design principles of radiation–tolerant structural alloys.