Radiation resistance of AlN ceramics as a result of irradiation with low-energy C2+ ions

Highlights: • The result of AlN-based ceramics irradiation by heavy ions was analyzed. • An increase of impurity phases Al₂O₃ and Al₄C₃ during irradiation were shown. • Increasing of the concentration of defects leads to a deterioration of optical properties. • An increase of the irradiation fluence leads to the rise of the dislocation density. -- Abstract: The paper presents the results of a study of the radiation resistance of ceramic materials based on aluminum nitride. The irradiation was carried out by C²⁺ ions with an energy of 40 keV with a fluence from 10¹⁴ to 10¹⁵ ion/cm² at an irradiation temperature of 300 K. On the basis of the data obtained by the XRD, SEM, EDX methods, the dependence of the change in crystallographic characteristics and strength properties from the irradiation dose was established. It is established that as a result of irradiation of the near-surface layer, formation of an impurity phase of Al₄C₃ is observed, which leads to an increase in parameters of the crystal lattice, which indicates the implantation of C²⁺ ions and the formation of the implantation phase in the structure. In this case, an increase in contributions of the impurity phases leads to a decrease in the intensity of diffraction peaks, as well as their asymmetry, which is caused by an increase in microstresses and deformations in the lattice. The decrease in hardness and strength characteristics can be explained by the formation of regions of structure disorder in the near-surface layer, as well as the increase in material porosity due to the change in density.