Lattice damage and secondary phase formation in Yttria stabilised zirconia implanted with Fe at different temperatures

Highlights: → Lattice damage and secondary phase in Fe implanted ZrO2:Y (YSZ) are reported. → YSZ remains partially crystalline up to a fluence of 110 dpa. → Crystallographically oriented bcc-Fe nanoparticles have formed in the YSZ matrix. - Abstract: In this paper we report on the lattice damage and nanocrystalline secondary phase formation in Fe implanted Yttria stabilised zirconia (YSZ) up to a peak concentration of 10%. The implantation temperature has been varied between room temperature and 1000 deg. C. Samples were characterized using Rutherford backscattering/channeling and X-ray diffraction. We observed that (1) YSZ remains partially crystalline even after Fe implantation at room temperature and the lattice damage can be partially recovered if implantation is performed at elevated temperatures; (2) crystalline bcc-Fe nanoparticles have formed and grown with increasing implantation temperature. The nanoscale Fe precipitates and the YSZ matrix have a crystallographic orientation relationship.