Electrical conductivity of Li2O under and after irradiation

Electrical conductivity of lithium oxide (Li2O) was measured in the range 413 to 673 K under and after irradiation by in-situ measurements using 24 MeV and 60 MeV lithium-ion irradiation. For the post irradiation condition, the conductivity was increased with the fluence below 440 K by unspecified defects and was decreased in the range 453 to 573 K by F+ centers. The effects of colloidal lithium metal centers were not observed in the examined fluence range (up to 1.5x1019 ions m-2). The conductivity under irradiation was larger than that before and after irradiation. The increment between the in-beam condition and the post-irradiation condition increased with the flux and also depended on temperature. The mechanism of such increase of conductivity under irradiation and the irradiation effects on lithium-ion and tritium diffusion are discussed. (orig.)