Threshold Measurements and the Production of Radiation Damage in the Noble Metals

Abstract

We have measured the electrical resistivity changes induced by bombarding Cu, Ag, and Au at \ensuremath{\sim}10\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}K with 1.5-Mev electrons. It is inferred that the threshold energy ${T}_{d}$ for radiation damage production in Cu, Ag, and Au is 22, 30, and \ensuremath{\ge}40 ev, respectively. The fact that the ${T}_{d}$ values are not the same for this homologous series of metals requires reconsideration of the comparison of deuteron radiation damage theory and experiment. This shows that even beyond the different ${T}_{d}$ values, the damage process parameters in these materials are not identical.