Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Primary Radiation Damage in Silicon Carbide

Abstract

Molecular dynamics simulations provide information on atomic displacement cascades due to the ionic collisions on the time scale of picoseconds and simultaneously account for the effects of crystal structure and temperature. Thus, molecular dynamics can help to understand the specific material behaviour during ion irradiation and make predictions for long-term neutron exposure as well. The latter is especially important for new generations of high-temperature reactors which use ceramics as construction materials. The paper presents the preliminary molecular dynamics simulations of argon irradiation of the SiC sample at very low energies, where mainly elastic collisions dominate, and two different sample temperatures are presented. The obtained results clearly illustrate the time-dependent reduction of the crystal defect number and the influence of the electronic stopping power. Additionally, the number of sustainable crystal defects depends largely on the sample temperature.