Enhanced radiation tolerance in nanocrystalline MgGa2O4

The authors demonstrate a substantial enhancement in radiation-induced amorphization resistance for single-phased nanocrystalline (NC) versus large-grained polycrystalline MgGa2O4. NC and large-grained MgGa2O4 were irradiated at similar to 100 K with 300 keV Kr++ ions to fluences ranging between 5x10(19) and 4x10(20) Kr/m(2). Large-grained MgGa2O4 samples began to amorphize by a fluence of 5x10(19) Kr/m(2), while NC MgGa2O4 remained crystalline with no evidence for structural changes (other than moderate grain growth in the lowermost implanted region), to a fluence of 4x10(20) Kr/m(2). To our knowledge, this is the first experimental study to reveal enhanced amorphization resistance in an irradiated, single-phase, NC material.