Raman study of Kr ion irradiated sodium aluminoborosilicate glass

Raman spectroscopy was used to investigate the microstructure evolution of sodium aluminoborosilicate glass after 4 MeV Kr17+ ions irradiation at various fluences from 3.1 x 10(11) to 1.8 x 10(15) ions/cm(2). The Si-O-Si vibration band around 450 cm(-1) was slightly shifted to higher Raman shift after irradiation, and stabilized after the nuclear deposited energy reached about 10(24) eV/cm(3). An increase in the population of 3-membered rings and decrease in the species of 4-membered rings were evidenced in the irradiated samples. These have been correlated to the densification process of glass. Depolymerization of glass network caused by Kr ion irradiation was also observed. These results indicate that the microstructural modifications caused by Kr ion irradiation are the consequence of ballistic effects. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.