A production study of acoustic loss related defects in quartz

It is shown that the general features of the destruction of the aluminum-alkali center and the production of the Al-OH center by ionizing radiation follow relatively simple kinetics. The initial decay of the Al-Na (or Al-Li) center is exponential in radiation dose, and the decay is matched by the growth of the Al-OH center. The Al-OH center grows as 1-exp(K' D), and this growth evidently controls the initial Al-Na decay. In samples where the hydrogen content is equal to or greater than the aluminum content, relatively few room-temperature-stable Al-hole centers are produced. However, when the hydrogen content are produced. However, when the hydrogen content is substantially less than the aluminum content a significant fraction of the aluminum is converted into stable Al-hole centers by irradiation. This conversion shows up as a second, slower term in the Al-Na decay curve.<>