An existing model for first stage anion vacancy stabilization in irradiated alkali halides was applied to sapphire. To monitor the F center concentration growth during irradiation, radioluminescence instead of optical absorption measurements was employed. The results indicated that the model was valid for sapphire and suggested that the F center stabilization process depended upon O interstitial trapping. This implied that the resistance to radiation damage at low doses should depend upon the impurity and dislocation content of the material. One presumes the model may be extended to other oxides.

Oxygen Interstitial Trapping in Electron Irradiated Sapphire. A.Moroño, E.R.Hodgson: Journal of Nuclear Materials, 2002, 307-311[2], 1246-9