New method for detection of Li inside He bubbles formed in B10-alloyed steel after neutron irradiation

Electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) was used to detect and study the spatial distribution on the nanoscale of He and Li in boron-alloyed steel after neutron irradiation. Li and He are the products of the (10)B(n, α)(7)Li nuclear transmutation reaction and knowledge of their distribution is important to understand their influence on mechanical properties. Here, a new method is presented for the direct detection of Li in Fe, which is based on the analysis of the plasmon structure in EELS spectra. Li drops or particles in He bubbles show pronounced Li plasmon line at 10eV which can be extracted from the Fe/Cr plasmon. The Gaussian or linear interpolation of the Fe/Cr plasmon and its subtraction allows for the calculation of Li and He two-dimensional maps and the study their spatial distribution. The analysis of Li plasmon fine structure allows imaging surface effects in the Li drops.