Reactor annealing of pre-irradiated model materials

Experiments on annealing together with reactor irradiation of diamond and silicon carbide which have been pre-irradiated at low temperature are described. The results are compared with the data on annealing of the same pre-irradiated samples without irradiation – annealing in a furnace. It is shown that in a certain range of experimental conditions annealing with irradiation is more effective than thermal annealing alone. The lattice parameters of diamond and silicon carbide are restored more rapidly with such irradiation stimulated annealing than with simple annealing in a furnace at the same temperature and for the same time. The effect obtained depends on the intensity of the irradiation – the higher the intensity, the more quickly and completely the properties of the pre-irradiated samples are restored. Thus a paradoxical situation arises on some time segment of annealing with simultaneous irradiation where the concentration of defects actually decreases with increasing irradiation dose.