Radiation damage in zircon

A single, zoned, Sri Lankan zircon exhibits a range of microstructures from crystalline to nearly amorphous that are the result of radiation damage over a dose range of 2.1–10.1·1015 α-decay events/mg (0.16–0.47 dpa). The zones in the crystal were examined at a variety of length scales using optical microscopy, micro-Raman spectroscopy, electron microprobe analysis, and transmission electron microscopy. Birefringence varies linearly with dose: birefringence = −4.71·10−18 /g· D α + 4.86·10−2. Full width at half maximum (FWHM) measurements of the B1g(ν3) peak, as determined by micro-Raman spectroscopy, were used to estimate the extent of radiation damage in each zone. The radiation dose (calc…