Structural defects caused by swift ions in fluorite single crystals

A comparative study of radiation damage caused by the irradiation of oxygen-free calcium fluoride single crystals with ∼GeV 132Xe or 209Bi heavy ions, 100-keV light hydrogen ions (protons) or X-rays at room temperature has been performed. Optical absorption in a wide spectral region from NIR to VUV (1.5-10.5 eV), its dependence on stepwise preheating of the irradiated CaF2 crystals to a certain temperature as well as thermally stimulated luminescence accompanying the main annealing stages have been analyzed. It is shown that in addition to different F-type aggregates, Ca colloids and trifluorine quasi-molecules, complex and temperature stable structural defects responsible for VUV absorption (in particular, the 9.8 eV band) are induced in CaF2 only after irradiation with swift heavy ions. The origin and tentative creation mechanisms of such defects as well as the features of the used irradiation types are considered.