Thin Solid Films, Vol.256, No.1-2, 116-119, 1995
A Physical Basis for Irradiation-Induced Modification of Thin-Film Stresses
A mechanism is proposed for the modification of stresses in thin films by irradiation. A tensile stress causes preferential alignment of interstitial loops such that the normal to the plane of the loop is parallel to the direction of the stress. The aligned loops grow and produce a positive strain in the lattice, which relieves the initial stress.