Tunable helium bubble superlattice ordered by screw dislocation network

Abstract

Helium bubble nucleation at low-angle twist boundaries in gold has been investigated. It is found that the helium bubbles preferentially nucleate at screw dislocation nodal points and result in helium bubble superlattice formation, which is completely isomorphic with the screw dislocation network along the twist-grain boundary. Molecular statics calculations reveal that defect formation/solution energies along the screw dislocations, especially at the nodal points, are lower than their bulk counterparts. It is believed that this driving force is responsible for the helium bubble superlattice formation. Our study suggests that grain boundary engineering via adjustable twist angles in parallel boundaries to form tunable 3D bubble superlattices could afford a very promising approach for design of radiation tolerant materials.