Effects of Ionizing Radiation on Quartz Crystals

Reliable predictions of the radiation response of individual swept synthetic quartz resonator units have been found to require some degree of testing of the parent quartz material or of finished resonators. To establish acceptance tests for quartz crystal, eight bars of Z-growth, swept synthetic quartz from four different growth runs were examined. Resonators representing all eight bars were tested for frequency shifts using 30-MeV electron irradiation, and one crystal was tested in a mixed neutron-gamma environment. Electron spin resonance and transient and steady-state optical absorption were performed on pieces of the parent material in an attempt to correlate the observed frequency changes with defect properties. (Author)