Influence of point defect trapping on sink strengths

Under constant irradiation, immobile point defect trapping sites acquire a steady state occupation probability. The value of this probability depends upon the proximity of other sinks or sources. This in turn modifies the steady state point defect flux to (from) the sink (source) in question, thereby influencing its strength. An approximate theory of this effect is developed for a void embedded in a sea of point-impurity-associated trapping sites and of dislocations distributed at random. The sink strength of a set of such voids is determined. The theory is compared at length with the results of an earlier analysis in which the boundary layer phenomenon was not included. (orig.)