Study of Complex Effect of Intense Flows of Argon Ions and Pulsed Laser Radiation on Surface of Vanadium and Vanadium-Based Alloys (Review)

Physics of Atomic Nuclei. 2022. Vol. 85. No. 1. P. S71–S79.

Borovitskaya I. V., Korshunov S. N., Mansurova A. N., G. G. Bondarenko, Lyublinsky I. E.

A review of studies on the effect of intense flows of argon ions and high-power pulsed laser radiation
on properties such as microhardness, radiation erosion, structural changes, corrosion resistance in liquid
lithium, and changes in surface topography under conditions of separate and sequential irradiation with Ar+
ions and laser radiation of low-activated vanadium alloys (V–0.59Ga, V–1.86Ga, V–3.49Ga, V–3.4Ga–
0.62Si, V–4.51Ga–5.66Cr, and V–4.8Ti–4.82Cr) in comparison with pure vanadium is presented. The samples
were irradiated with argon ions in a vacuum in an ILU accelerator at energy of 20 keV, a dose of 1022 m–2, an
ion flux density of 6 × 1018 m–2 s–1, and Tirrad ~ 700 K. The parameters of laser irradiation in the GOS 1001
facility in vacuum in the Q-switched mode are as follows: flux power density is q = 1.2 × 1012 W m–2, pulse
duration is τ0 = 50 ns, and number of pulses is from 1 to 4. For the first time, we discovered new phenomena
such as the possibility of radiation blistering during implantation of heavy ions into metals, the appearance of
a long-range effect (two-sided change in microhardness, target structure, and surface morphology), and an
increase in the erosion of materials under the successive action of ions and laser radiation on them. Corrosion
of both materials irradiated with argon ions and unirradiated materials when tested in liquid lithium at a temperature
of 600°C for 400 h is identical (nitrogen penetration into materials is insignificant, and oxygen
release from materials is significant, which causes the formation of a zone with reduced microhardness near
the surface of the samples).

Keywords: ионы аргона, laser radiation, argon ions, лазерное облучение, vanadium, ванадий