Evolution of defects in a multicomponent glass irradiated by 1 MeV electrons

The optical properties and microstructural degradation of a multicomponent glass after exposure to 1 MeV electrons for fluences of 1013 to 1016 e−/cm2, as well as the recovery during annealing at room temperature (RT) for the fluence of 1016 e−/cm2, are investigated. The non-bridging oxygen hole centers (NBOHCs), as well as trapped electrons (TEs), are mainly attributed to optical absorption bands and paramagnetic spectra. In comparison of the exponential curves, the in-growth kinetics for each type of defect with increasing fluence are separable, and a new linearly-combined exponential model is used to describe the structural responses during irradiation. Accordingly, RT bleaching curves of defects follow a linearly-combined exponential decay function. Consistent results from optical and paramagnetic signals suggest that this linearly-combined model provides a reasonable kinetic description of the growth and bleaching process of defects.