Inconel alloy 718 is a high-strength and corrosion resistant alloy that is commonly used as a beamline vacuum window. The accumulation of irradiation-induced damage substantially decreases the window’s service lifetime, and replacing it engenders significant beamline downtime. With this application in mind, herein we examine whether post-irradiation annealing can alleviate irradiation-induced damage of Inconel alloy 718. Inconel alloy 718 was received in a solution annealed state. We then irradiated samples using two different modalities (1.5 MeV H⁺ and 5 MeV Ni²⁺) at three representative temperatures for beamline windows (room temperature, 100 °C, and 200 °C), followed by annealing at temperatures viable for in-situ annealing processes (no anneal, 300 °C, and 500 °C). Using nanoindentation, we determined that irradiation-induced hardening occurs but is largely mitigated by post-irradiation annealing. Overall, our results suggest that in-situ annealing of radiation damage in Inconel alloy 718 vacuum windows appears feasible, which could potentially decrease beam downtime and maintenance costs.

Inconel合金718是一种高强度且耐腐蚀的合金，通常用作束线真空窗口。辐照引起的损伤的累积会大大降低窗户的使用寿命，而更换窗户会导致射线束大量停机。考虑到该应用，在此我们检查辐照后退火是否可以减轻辐照引起的Inconel合金718的损害。Inconel合金718以固溶退火状态接收。然后，我们使用两种不同的模式（1.5 MeV H ⁺和5 MeV Ni ²⁺）在三个典型的光束线窗口温度（室温，100°C和200°C）下进行退火，然后在适合原位退火工艺的温度下进行退火（无退火，300°C和500°C）。使用纳米压痕，我们确定发生了辐射诱导的硬化，但是在很大程度上受到辐射后退火的影响。总体而言，我们的结果表明，Inconel 718合金真空窗中辐射损伤的原位退火看来是可行的，这有可能减少光束停机时间和维护成本。