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Basic research cracks an application challenge that has persisted for nearly half a century: quantitative prediction of neutron irradiation swelling via ion irradiation

Whether advanced nuclear energy systems can operate safely over the long term depends on the ability of structural materials to resist neutron irradiation damage. Neutrons create numerous atomic-scale defects in materials, which gradually aggregate into nanoscale cavities, ultimately causing material swelling, dimensional instability, and performance degradation. However, obtaining high-dose neutron irradiation data often requires years or even more than a decade, with high costs and post-irradiation sample radioactivity; in contrast, ion irradiation can simulate years of accumulated damage within days and is therefore widely adopted (approximately 95% of irradiation experimental data in existing literature come from ion irradiation). But the dose rate of ion irradiation is typically 3—4 orders of magnitude higher than that of neutron irradiation, making direct conversion between the two results difficult. Recently, the research team of Wang Chenxu and Wang Yugang from the Institute of Heavy Ion Physics, School of Physics, and the State Key Laboratory of Nuclear Physics and Nuclear Technology at Peking University, in collaboration with researchers from the University of Tennessee and other institutions, established a quantitative relationship between material swelling and irradiation dose and dose rate at fixed temperatures based on cluster dynamics simulations, theoretical derivations, and ion irradiation experiments, achieving prediction of neutron irradiation swelling using rapid ion irradiation and providing a new tool for rapid screening and lifetime evaluation of nuclear materials.

2026-08-07

New Progress in Ion Dynamics Regulation in Nanofluidic Memristors by the Institute of Modern Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Water-based nanofluidic ionic devices offer unique advantages in frontier fields such as brain-computer interfaces and biocompatible computing. Recently, the research team from the State Key Laboratory of Heavy Ion Science and Technology at the Institute of Modern Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with Lanzhou University, Hebei University of Geosciences, and other partners, successfully achieved stable ionic memristive effects in single-ion-track nanochannels. Through precise regulation, they realized programmable transitions between memristive and synaptic functions, providing a new technological pathway for the development of next-generation low-power neuromorphic computing hardware. The related results were published in the journal *Small* on July 22. Relying on the Heavy Ion Research Facility in Lanzhou (HIRFL), the researchers...

2026-08-04

New Progress in Ion Dynamics Regulation in Nanofluidic Memristors by the Institute of Modern Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Water-based nanofluidic ionic devices offer unique advantages in frontier fields such as brain-computer interfaces and biocompatible computing. Recently, the research team from the State Key Laboratory of Heavy Ion Science and Technology at the Institute of Modern Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with Lanzhou University, Hebei University of Geosciences, and other partners, successfully achieved stable ionic memristive effects in single-ion-track nanochannels. Through precise regulation, they realized programmable transitions in memristive and synaptic functions, providing a new technological pathway for the development of next-generation low-power neuromorphic computing hardware. The related results were published in the journal *Small* on July 22. Leveraging the Heavy Ion Research Facility in Lanzhou (HIRFL), the researchers...

2026-08-03

Additively Manufactured CrMoTaTiV Refractory Alloy Demonstrates Excellent Radiation Resistance

A materials study released on July 31 shows that a research team used laser powder directed energy deposition (LP-DED) technology to fabricate a novel Cr₁₀Mo₂₅Ta₂₅Ti₁₅V₂₅ refractory complex concentrated alloy and systematically evaluated its structural stability and mechanical properties under irradiation environments. The study targets the demand for high-temperature, high-irradiation structural materials in next-generation nuclear fission and fusion devices. In the study, samples were subjected to 3.5 MeV Fe²⁺ ion irradiation at the Ion Beam Materials Laboratory of Los Alamos National Laboratory in the United States, at irradiation temperatures of room temperature and 650°C, with local doses reaching approximately 1.8, 6, and 18 dpa. Microstructural analysis...

2026-08-01