title: Swift heavy ion damage to sodium chloride: synergy between excitation and thermal spikes.
abstract: Systematic data on the effect of irradiation with swift ions (Zn at 735 MeV and Xe at 929 MeV) on NaCl single crystals have been analysed in terms of a synergetic two-spike approach (thermal and excitation spikes). The coupling of the two spikes, simultaneously generated by the irradiation, contributes to the operation of a non-radiative exciton decay model as proposed for purely ionization damage. Using this scheme, we have accounted for the π-emission yield of self-trapped excitons and its temperature dependence under ion-beam irradiation. Moreover, the initial production rates of F-centre growth have also been reasonably simulated for irradiation at low temperatures ( < 100 K), where colour centre annealing and aggregation can be neglected.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Fusión Nuclear, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rivera
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Olivares
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Garcia
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Agulló-López