An XRD, TEM and Raman study of experimentally annealed natural monazite

The healing of radiation damage in natural monazite has been experimentally studied in annealing experiments using XRD, TEM, Raman microprobe and cathodoluminescence analysis. The starting material was a chemically homogeneous monazite from a Brazilian pegmatite with a concordant U–Pb age of 474 ± 1 Ma and a U–Th/He age of 479 Ma. The monazite shows nm-scale defects induced by radioactive decay. The Xray pattern of the unheated starting material revealed two distinct monazite ''phases'' A and B with slightly different lattice parameters. Monazite A shows sharp reflections of high amplitudes and slightly expanded lattice parameters (1% in volume) compared to a standard monazite. Phase B exhi…