Abstract
Na+ ions of energy 250 and 450 keV were implanted at a fluence of 1.5*1017 Na+/cm2 into 2 mm thick polycrystalline aluminium. The narrow resonance of the 23Na(p, gamma )24Mg reaction at 309 keV was used to scan the depth profiles of Na via the (p, gamma ) nuclear reaction analysis (NRA). During a vacuum annealing up to 460 degrees C, narrowing of the Na profile in the region of maximum correlated radiation damage was first observed (attributed to segregation), followed by outdiffusion. The NRA technique allowed the determination of the diffusion coefficient and the activation energy of Na in Al at low temperatures; the results agree with previous high-temperature measurements. Diffusion was also studied under the influence of uncorrelated radiation damage introduced by additional He+ and Al+ implantations.