SELF-RADIATION DAMAGE AND RECOVERY IN PU-DOPED ZIRCON

The effects of self-radiation damage due to alpha decay was studied as a function of cumulative decay events in synthetic zircon doped with 238Pu. The density of the Pu-doped zircon decreased exponentially with dose to a value corresponding to a density change of 14.2% at saturation. The initially crystalline material became fully X-ray amorphous at a dose of 6.7 x l0l8 alpha decays/g. Isochronal annealing indicated that recovery associated with recrystallization of amorphous zircon occurs in two stages, with estimated activation energies of 5.1 ±0.2 and 6.6 ± 0.3 eV. These results are in good agreement with behavior observed in studies of self-radiation damage over geologic time in natural zircons. © 1991, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. All rights reserved.