In-Person

  CNLS Conference Room (TA-3, Bldg 1690)

 

Thursday, Mar. 16, 2023

3:45 – 4:45 pm (MT)

  Light refreshments  3:15 - 3:45 pm

 

 

Webex


Speaker: Kurt Sickafus

                   LANL, MST-8                   

                     

“An Introduction to Radiation Damage

in Minerals and Ceramics”

 

Abstract: 

Radiation effects in minerals and ceramics are quite distinct from effects observed in metals. This is largely due to interactions between radiation and the electronic structure of insulating materials that are unique compared to metallic conductors. Most notably, insulators exhibit property changes when energetic particles lose energy to electrons in the solid, whereas metals are unaffected by electronic energy losses. In addition, displacive radiation damage effects (atoms being knocked off their lattice sites by energetic particles) are much more complex in insulators, due to the complexities of their crystal structures (multiple cation and anion sublattices). In this presentation, we will focus on the atomistic mechanisms responsible for radiation damage in minerals and ceramics, when energetic particles lose energy while penetrating a solid. We will consider several examples, including (i) irradiation-induced color center formation in gemstones; (ii) latent defects in alkali halides (relevance to thermoluminescent detectors); (iii) radioactive decay-induced amorphization of natural minerals; and (iv) extended defect formation and phase stability in complex oxides.

 

 

Bio: 

Kurt Sickafus is Group Leader in MST-8 (Materials in Radiation and Dynamic Extremes). Prior to re-joining LANL in 2021, Kurt served as the Alvin and Sally Beaman Chair and Head of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, as well as the Director of Graduate Studies at The University of Tennessee (2011-2021). Before Tennessee, 1989-2011, Kurt worked as a Technical Staff Member at LANL, where he studied radiation damage effects in ceramic materials, particularly in ceramics with potential uses in nuclear engineering applications. Kurt is a LANL Fellow and Fellow of the American Ceramic Society.