Crystallographic orientation dependence of radiation damage in Ga-ion irradiated Ni-based alloy processed by a focused ion beam

The effect of crystallographic orientation on radiation damage in Ga-ion irradiated Ni-based polycrystalline alloy processed by a focused ion beam was investigated using advanced analytical transmission electron microscopy. After irradiation, the radiation-induced defects exhibited different morphologies on the surfaces of {0 0 1}, {0 1 2} and {1 1 4} grains of the Ni-based alloy. Moreover, the {0 0 1} grain was found to have thicker remaining material than the {0 1 2} and {1 1 4} grains, indicating that the {0 0 1} grain had a larger sputter yield than the other two grains during irradiation. The physical nature of the crystallographic orientation dependence of the defect morphology and sputter yield was investigated and discussed.