Helium ion irradiation effects on neodymium and cerium co-doped Gd2Zr2O7 pyrochlore ceramic

This paper studies the helium ions irradiation effects on Nd and Ce co-doped Gd2Zr2O7 ceramics, where Nd replaces the Gd site and Ce replaces the Zr site respectively. A series of (Gd1-xNdx)(2)(Zr1-yCey)(2)O-7 (0 <= x, y <= 1) ceramics were irradiated with a 500 keV He ions at room temperature at fluences ranging from 1 x 10(15) to 1 x 10(17) ions/cm(2). The irradiated samples were characterized using GIXRD, Raman and SEM measurements. From the GIXRD and Raman observations, the results indicate that all the samples display a deficient fluorite structure after irradiation. The irradiation toleration increases with the irradiation depth increasing under experimental conditions, and Nd2Ce2O7 has the best irradiation stability in the (Gd1-xNdx)(2)(Zr1-yCey)(2)O-7 (0 <= x, y <= 1). Based on SEM results, the irradiated samples are still relatively dense and uniform, and no second phase exists. (c) 2018 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Chinese Society of Rare Earths.