Abstract
Single crystals of CaF2, SrF2, and BaF2 were irradiated at room temperature with alpha particles emitted from an effectively semi-infinite 238PuO2 source to a cumulative dose of 3 × 1020 alpha particles/m2. Although no change in the lattice parameter of CaF2 was observed, the crystals exhibited increasing coloration with dose. The lattice parameters of both SrF2 and BaF2 increased exponentially with dose, in agreement with a previously developed model, but the crystals developed no apparent coloration. Isochronal and isothermal-step annealing were used to study the recovery behavior of the lattice defects in both the SrF2 and BaF2 single crystals. A single recovery stage, tentatively associated with cation defects, was observed in each and the activation energy determined.

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