Complex annealing within stage 1 of aluminum

Abstract

Irradiating aluminum with 0.4 MeV electrons gives a component of damage which anneals in the 21 to 26 K temperature region that is independent of the I_B and I_C annealing stages. A detailed study has been made that proves this component of the damage is (1) reproducible, (2) increased with increasing irradiation energy, (3) increased when aluminum is doped with copper, (4) independent of crystallographic orientation, (5) independent of irradiation dose, and (6) also present from 27 to 29 K. It is proposed that this continuum type of recovery is caused by the annealing of point defects which reside at strained regions of a crystal.