Radiation hardening in sol-gel derived Er{sup 3+}-doped silica glasses
- Laboratoire des Solides Irradiés, UMR CEA-CNRS 7642, Ecole Polytechnique, Université Paris Saclay, 91128 Palaiseau (France)
- Laboratoire PhLAM (UMR CNRS 8523), IRCICA (USR CNRS 3380), CERLA - FR CNRS 2416, Université Lille 1, Villeneuve d'Ascq Cedex F-59655 (France)
- Institut de Chimie Moléculaire et des Matériaux d'Orsay, UMR CNRS-UPSud 8182, Université Paris Sud, 91405 Orsay (France)
- National Fusion Laboratory, CIEMAT, Avda Complutense 40, 28040 Madrid (Spain)
The aim of the present paper is to report the effect of radiation on the Er{sup 3+}-doped sol-gel silica glasses. A possible application of these sol-gel glasses could be their use in harsh radiation environments. The sol-gel glasses are fabricated by densification of erbium salt-soaked nanoporous silica xerogels through polymeric sol-gel technique. The radiation-induced attenuation of Er{sup 3+}-doped sol-gel silica is found to increase with erbium content. Electron paramagnetic resonance studies reveal the presence of E′{sub δ} point defects. This happens in the sol-gel aluminum-silica glass after an exposure to γ-rays (kGy) and in sol-gel silica glass after an exposure to electrons (MGy). The concentration levels of these point defects are much lower in γ-ray irradiated sol-gel silica glasses. When the samples are co-doped with Al, the exposure to γ-ray radiation causes a possible reduction of the erbium valence from Er{sup 3+} to Er{sup 2+} ions. This process occurs in association with the formation of aluminum oxygen hole centers and different intrinsic point defects.
- OSTI ID:
- 22492710
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 118, Issue 12; Other Information: (c) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0021-8979
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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