Abstract
α-decay damage and recrystallization in natural zircon (with dose rangingfrom 0.06 to 23.3×1018 α-events g-1) were studied usingpolarized reflection infrared spectroscopy. The experimental results show thatα-decay damage leads to a gradual decrease in reflectivity and a loss ofanisotropy of IR spectra. Recrystallization of damaged zircon is found as amulti-stage process with a strong dependence on the initial degree of damage. Inweakly and moderately damaged samples the major recrystallization takes placenear 1000 K. Annealed samples recrystallize epitaxially along their originalcrystallographic orientations. A highly damaged zircon with radiation dose of15.9×1018 α-events g-1 decomposes into SiO2 andZrO2 near 1100 K. In this sample the growth of ZrSiO4 from the binaryoxides occurs between 1400 and 1500 K. An additional IR signal peaked near790 cm-1 is detected in moderately damaged samples annealed at temperatureshigher than 800 K. This peak is sharp and isotropic. The peak tends to disappearat temperatures above 1400 K. This signal may be related to an unknownintermediate phase caused by heating of radiation-damaged zircon. Alternatively,the signal may be due to the structural distortions near the boundaries betweenthe amorphized and crystalline regions.
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