Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 February 2011
Ion irradiation induced grain growth size distributions in Pd are examined at low temperatures. Two features are observed: 1) A majority of the grains saturate in size. 2) Some grains achieve sizes much larger than the average grain size and continue to grow with ion dose. However, by careful choice of ion mass and ion dose, it is possible to produce a sample possessing a monomodal grain size. This process will have applications in producing thin films of nanocrystalline materials.