A study of irradiation-induced damage in α-quartz

Samples of crystalline synthetic quartz were exposed in a reactor to fast neutrons with a fluence ranging from 1018 to 1021 neutron/cm2. They were wrapped in aluminum foil and quartzous ampules. The temperatures of the samples are estimated to have been about 60 degrees C. As a result of the high-doses fast neutron bombardment, monocrystalline alpha-quartz had transformed into the amorphous phase. This process of radiation damage of crystalline structure by optical, mechanical, and roentgenographic methods has been studies. The possibility of the utilization of the structurally sensitive properties of alpha-quartz in neutron-irradiation dosimetry was discovered. The mechanical and optical properties of crystal quartz irradiated by neutrons are investigated. The influence of dose on the radiation expansion along and perpendicular to the C-axis and on the density of samples is studied. A comparison is made with the properties of the samples before irradiation