Effects of Au2+ irradiation induced damage in a high-entropy pyrochlore oxide single crystal

We report an ion-irradiation study of a compositionally complex (high-entropy) pyrochlore oxide. The damage produced from 4 MeV Au2+ ion irradiation on single crystal (Yb0.2Tm0.2Lu0.2Ho0.2Er0.2)2Ti2O7 aligned along the [100] direction is investigated at room temperature by Rutherford backscattering spectrometry in channeling mode (RBS/C). Damage profiles based on RBS/C are presented and compared to single-component pyrochlore titanate oxides to evaluate the relative resistance to irradiation-induced amorphization. The results show that this high-entropy pyrochlore goes amorphous at a dose of 0.13 dpa, which is comparable to that of single-component pyrochlores previously studied. Transmission electron microscopy images unveil the damaged surface layer, which is consistent with the RBS/C results.