In situ beam analysis of radiation damage kinetics in MgTiO{sub 3} single crystals at 170-470 K

Radiation damage kinetics in synthetic MgTiO{sub 3} (geikielite) single crystals have been studied using the in situ ion beam facility at Los Alamos National Laboratory. The geikielite samples were irradiated at temperatures of 170, 300, and 470 K with 400 keV xenon ions and the radiation damage was sequentially measured with Rutherford backscattering using a 2 MeV He ion beam along a channeling direction. Threshold doses of I and 5x l0{sup 15} Xe/cm{sup 2} were determined for the crystalline-to-amorphous transformation induced by Xe ion irradiation at 170 and 300 K, respectively. However, geikielite retained its crystallinity up to a dose of 2.5xl0{sup 16}Xe/cm{sup 2} at the irradiation temperature of 470 K. This study has shown that MgTiO{sub 3}, which has a corundum derivative structure, is another radiation resistant material that has the potential for use in radiation environments