A comprehensive study of structure and properties of nanocrystalline zinc peroxide

Abstract Nanocrystalline zinc peroxide (nano-ZnO2) was synthesized through a hydrothermal process and comprehensively studied using several experimental techniques. Its crystal structure was characterized by X-ray diffraction, and the average crystallite size of 22 nm was estimated by Rietveld refinement. The temperature-dependent local environment around zinc atoms was reconstructed using reverse Monte Carlo (RMC) analysis from the Zn K-edge X-ray absorption spectra. The indirect band gap of about 4.6 eV was found using optical absorption spectroscopy. Lattice dynamics of nano-ZnO2 was studied by infrared and Raman spectroscopy. In situ Raman measurements indicate the stability of nano-ZnO…

Accumulation of radiation defects and modification of micromechanical properties under MgO crystal irradiation with swift 132Xe ions

This work has been carried out within the framework of the EUROfusion Consortium and has received funding from the Euratom research and training programme 2014-2018 and 2019-2020 under grant agreement No. 633053. The views and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of the European Commission. A.A. also acknowledges support via the project GF AP05134257 of Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan .

Thermal annealing of radiation damage produced by swift 132Xe ions in MgO single crystals

Abstract The annealing kinetics of the electron-type F+ and F color centers in highly pure MgO single crystals irradiated by 0.23-GeV 132Xe ions with fluences covering three orders of magnitude (Φ = 5 × 1011 –3.3 × 1014 ions/cm2) are studied experimentally via dependence of the optical absorption on preheating temperature. The annealing data are analyzed in terms of the diffusion-controlled bimolecular reactions between F-type centers and complementary interstitial oxygen ions. The behavior of the main kinetic parameters – the migration energies and pre-exponential factors – for different irradiation fluences is discussed and compared with that for other wide-gap binary materials from previ…

Evidence for the formation of two types of oxygen interstitials in neutron-irradiated α-Al2O3 single crystals

Authors are indebted to R. Vila for stimulating discussions. Tis work has been carried out within the framework of the EUROfusion Consortium and has received funding from the Euratom research and training programme 2014–2018 and 2019–2020 under Grant agreement No 633053. The views and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily refect those of the European Commission. In addition, the research leading to these results has received funding from the Latvian grant LZP-2018/1-0147 (EV). Institute of Solid State Physics, University of Latvia as the Center of Excellence is supported through the Framework Program for European universities Union Horizon 2020, H2020-WIDESPREAD-01–2016–2017-TeamingP…

Optical absorption and Raman studies of neutron-irradiated Gd3Ga5O12 single crystals

Abstract In this work we have performed a comparative analysis of optical absorption and micro-Raman spectra for series of Gd3Ga5O12 (GGG) single crystals irradiated by fast neutrons with fluences from 1016 n/cm2 to 1018 n/cm2. It was found that the optical absorption spectra of non-irradiated Czochralski grown GGG consist of the relatively narrow lines in the UV spectral range related to the 4f–4f transitions in Gd3+. Transitions from the 6S7/2 ground state to the 6P, 6J and 6D states in a Gd3+ cation are clearly detected. For a GGG crystal containing Ca impurity ions, additional absorption band at 350 nm is observed, and it is tentatively ascribed to oxygen vacancies associated with Ca im…

Influence of complex impurity centres on radiation damage in wide-gap metal oxides

Different mechanisms of radiation damage of wide-gap metal oxides as well as a dual influence of impurity ions on the efficiency of radiation damage have been considered on the example of binary ionic MgO and complex ionic–covalent $Lu_{3}Al_{5}O_{12}$ single crystals. Particular emphasis has been placed on irradiation with $\sim$2 GeV heavy ions ($^{197}Au, ^{209}Bi, ^{238}U$, fluence of 10$^{12}$ ions/cm$^{2}$) providing extremely high density of electronic excitations within ion tracks. Besides knock-out mechanism for Frenkel pair formation, the additional mechanism through the collapse of mobile discrete breathers at certain lattice places (e.g., complex impurity centres) leads to the c…

The Two Types of Oxygen Interstitials in Neutron‐Irradiated Corundum Single Crystals: Joint Experimental and Theoretical Study

About complexity of the 2.16-eV absorption band in MgO crystals irradiated with swift Xe ions

Abstract The precise study of the accumulation and subsequent thermal annealing of the defects responsible for the complex absorption band around 2.16 eV, being under discussion in the literature for a long time, has been performed in highly pure MgO single crystals exposed to 0.23-GeV 132Xe ions with a fluence of Φ = 5 × 1011 − 3.3 × 1014 ions/cm2. Three Gaussian components with the maxima at 2.16, 2.02 and 2.40 eV have been considered as a measure of so-called D1, D2 and D3 defects. Similar to the F and F+ centers, the concentration of these defects increases at high fluences without saturation marks, thus confirming their radiation-induced nature (involvement of novel Frenkel defects). T…

Thermal annealing and transformation of dimer F centers in neutron-irradiated Al2O3 single crystals

This work has been carried out within the framework of the EUROfusion Consortium and has received funding from the Euratom research and training programme 2014-2018 and 2019-2020 under grant agreement No 633053. The views and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of the European Commission. In addition, the research leading to these results has received funding from the Estonian Research Council grant (PUT PRG619).

Radiation creation of cation defects in alkali halide crystals: Review and today's concept (Review Article)

Irradiation of alkali halide crystals creates pairs of Frenkel defects both in anion and cation sublattices. However, the particular nonimpact creation mechanisms (related to the decay of different electronic excitations) of cation Frenkel pairs are still unclear. At helium temperatures, there is yet no direct evidences of the creation of stable (long-lived) elemental cation defects. On the other hand, a number of complex structural defects containing cation vacancies and/or interstitials, were detected after irradiation of alkali halides at higher temperatures. Besides already proved mechanism related to the association of H and VK centers into trihalide molecules, the following possibilit…

EPR and optical spectroscopy of neutron-irradiated Gd3Ga5O12 single crystals

Abstract In this paper, we have performed comparative analysis of EPR, optical absorption (OA) and luminescence spectra for a series of Gd3Ga5O12 (GGG) single crystals irradiated with fast neutrons with fluencies varied from 1016 to 1020n/cm2. In a crystal irradiated with the maximum neutron fluence, the EPR spectra demonstrated the formation of several paramagnetic defects. In particular, EPR spectrum shows a strong resonance at (effective) g ≈ 1.4 with practically isotropic behavior in the crystal rotation around the [1 1 1] direction (magnetic field being perpendicular to [1 1 1]) and several weaker lines in the g ≈ 1.1–2.6 region, which show more pronounced angular dependences. While th…

Comparison of the F-type center thermal annealing in heavy-ion and neutron irradiated Al2O3 single crystals

Abstract The optical absorption and thermally stimulated luminescence of Al2O3 (sapphire) single crystals irradiated with swift heavy ions (SHI) 238U with energy 2.4 GeV is studied with the focus on the thermal annealing of the F-type centers in a wide temperature range of 400–1500 K. Its theoretical analysis allows us to obtain activation energies and pre-exponentials of the interstitial oxygen ion migration, which recombine with both types of immobile electron centers (F and F+ centers). A comparison of these kinetics parameters with literature data for a neutron-irradiated sapphire shows their similarity and thus supports the use of SHI-irradiation for modeling the neutron irradiation.

Fast-neutron-induced and as-grown structural defects in magnesium aluminate spinel crystals with different stoichiometry

Abstract Several hole-type paramagnetic defects (a hole localized at a regular oxygen ion near charged structural defect/defects) have been revealed in fast-neutron-irradiated MgO⋅2.5Al2O3 single crystals using the EPR method. Three of them (a dominant V1 and small amount of V2 and V22) were recently revealed in a neutron-irradiated stoichiometric MgAl2O4, while a novel V4 center, ascribed to a hole in a form of O− ion nearby a complex of a magnesium vacancy and a positively charged antisite defect (V4 ≡ O–‑VMg‑Al|Mg), was created by fast neutrons only in a nonstoichiometric single crystal. The pulse annealing of the EPR signal of these centers was compared to that of radiation induced opti…