Point defects in neutron-irradiated quartz

Point defects formed by irradiation with fast neutrons have been characterized in high-quality synthetic quartz using electron spin resonance and optical absorption techniques. Among the paramagnetic defects generated are the E/sup prime/1 center, the [AlO4]0 center, and two previously unreported S = 1 centers. Production and thermal annealing characteristics of these more prominent defects are described. The two S = 1 defects have g/sub c/ values of 2.0205 and 2.0158 and thermally decay near 250 and 470 0C, respectively. They each consist of a pair of unpaired spins (i.e., holes) separated by approximately 5 A, and either vacancies or interstitials are a part of their models. These latter two centers, along with the E/sup /1 centers, result from direct displacements during the neutron irradiation. An optical absorption band at 210 nm grows at the same rate during irradiation as the E/sup prime/1 centers and S = 1 centers but cannot be definitely assigned to particular defects