Formation of Vacancy-Type Dislocation Loops in Hydrogen-Ion-Implanted Fe–Cr Alloy

Fe–10 at.%Cr alloy was implanted with hydrogen ions at room temperature, followed by annealing at high temperatures. The annealing process made the defects develop into large dislocation loops. The nature of the dislocation loops formed after annealing was studied by the evolution of loops under in situ electron irradiation in high-voltage electron microscope. It indicated that only interstitial-type loops were observed when annealed at 550 °C and below, but vacancy-type loops started to form at the temperature higher than 600 °C. According to the previous study of our group, the presence of chromium element made the formation temperature of vacancy-type loops higher than that in pure iron. The effect of alloying elements on the formation temperature of the vacancy-type loops was discussed.