Influence of radiation damage on lattice vibration parameters in crystalline and vitreous SiO2

The influence of radiation damage on a number of lattice vibration parameters in two SiO₂ modifications was investigated using IR reflectance spectroscopy. The radiation kinetics of changes in spectral characteristics of SiO₂ fundamental vibrations in crystalline and glassy states were determined. The reflectivity coefficient and the frequency of degenerate vibrations as functions of dose showed minima, the locations of which were governed by the type of sample. At high neutron irradiation doses (10²¹ cm⁻²), certain characteristics of the bands had the same values for both modified materials. Features of the radiation kinetics of sample dynamic parameters were determined. It was deduced that the specific character of the observed radiation-induced changes in spectral and dynamic parameters of vibrations near degenerate modes was due to both the accumulation of radiation damage and a change in the force field surrounding bridging bonds, which is related to a change in the SiO₂ structure. __________ Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 75, No. 3, pp. 354–358, May–June, 2008.