'In situ' straining in the HVEM of neutron irradiated copper crystals

High energy neutron irradiated copper single crystals strained 'in situ' in the high voltage electron microscope are observed to yield in relatively few strongly developed slip bands. The deformation in the slip bands is caused by glide of inclined dislocations close to screw orientation belonging to the primary slip system. Radiation induced point defect clusters are swept up by the dislocations whereby superjogs are formed. Some of the jogs will be sessile and act as pinning points for the gliding dislocations, which bow out under the applied stress to form perfect dipoles mainly of edge nature, as well as faulted dipoles, which are finally pinched off. The effective stress measured from the radius of curvature of the bowed-out dislocations is in agreement with resolved flow stress measurements from irradiated bulk crystals. (Auth.)