IR² – Ion iRradiation with In-situ electrical Resistivity measurement

The passage of energetic particles through materials creates microscopic defects in their crystal lattice which may cause serious degradation of their macroscopic properties after prolonged irradiation. This phenomenon is known as “radiation damage”.

IR² is a specialized irradiation facility for radiation damage studies of metallic materials. It allows irradiation of samples at well controlled flux and temperature, from the cryogenic range up to 700 K, by means of a dedicated helium cryo-cooler. Furthermore, the electrical resistivity of the sample is monitored in-situ during the irradiation providing real-time information on the defects created in the material by the irradiating particles and the evolution of these defects during subsequent annealing and recovery. In this way detailed systematic radiation damage studies can be performed in a relatively short time.

IR² is a unique facility that has been designed & constructed “in-house” at the National Centre for Scientific Research “Demokritos” by a team of scientific and technical personnel. It is installed at the TANDEM accelerator lab.