Design of radiation tolerant nanostructured metallic multilayers

We review He ion induced radiation damage in several metallic multilayer systems, including Cu/V, Cu/Mo, Fe/W, and Al/Nb up to a peak dose of several displacements per atom (dpa). Size dependent radiation damage is observed in all systems. Nanolayer composites can store a very high concentration of He. Layer interfaces promote the recombination of opposite type of point defects and hence reduce the accumulative defect density, swelling, and lattice distortion. Interfaces also alleviate radiation hardening substantially. The chemical stability of interfaces is an important issue when considering the design of radiation tolerant nanolayer composites. Immiscible and certain miscible systems possess superior stability against He ion irradiation. Challenge and future directions are briefly discussed.