The Effects of 167 MeV Xe26+ Swift Heavy Ions Irradiation on Chemical Vapour Deposited Silicon Carbide

The microstructural changes caused by Xe26+ swift heavy ions on polycrystalline SiC were investigated. Chemically vapour deposited SiC samples were irradiated by 167 MeV Xe26+ SHI with fluences of 1 x 10(12) and 5 x 10(14) cm(-2) at room temperature (RT). The sample composition, phase identification, residual stress and microstructural changes were investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy. The virgin polycrystalline SiC sample was composed of 3C-SiC and 6H-SiC. SHI irradiation caused lattice disorder and lattice expansion. The lattice volume of the SiC samples was observed to increase from 82.2021 angstrom(3) before irradiation to 82.7656 angstrom(3) after irradiating to a fluence of 5 x 10(14) cm(-2). The SiC sample before and after irradiation had tensile and bi-axial stress which was not homogeneous. The maximum irradiation-induced stress on the SiC microstructure did not exceed 690 MPa after irradiating to the highest fluence.