Luminescence and Dielectric Properties of Electron and Neutron Irradiated Corundum Single Crystals

The luminescence and electronic properties of electron and neutron irradiated α-Al2O3 single crystals are compared with those of non-irradiated sapphire crystals using photoluminescence spectroscopy and dielectric constant measurements. It is shown that high-energy particles create stable structural defects in the corundum single crystal lattice due to knocking-out of atoms from their standard positions in anion and cation sub-lattices. These defects are mainly associated with F and F+ centers as well as with other vacancies, interstitials and complex defects such as [Al + F] type aggregate centers