Influence of uniaxial compression at 80 K on the formation of radiation defects in KCl, KBr, and KI crystals

The influence of uniaxial compression at 80 K on the efficiency of formation of stable radiation defects in KCl, KBr and KI crystals is investigated by absorption spectroscopy. It is found that compression along the 〈100〉 directions does not alter the efficiency of radiation defect formation in KCl and KBr crystals, but in KI the efficiency drops by more than an order of magnitude. It is concluded from a semiquantitative analysis that the observed difference is attributable to the impossibility of H centers fitting into the compression-reduced interstitial voids in KI, whereas several multiples of ten-percent compression is required to produce the analogous effect in KCl and KBr.