Paramagnetic centers induced in cubic zirconia by 2.5-MeV electron and 2.6-GeV uranium ion irradiations

Abstract We have used electron spin resonance to study the defects induced in yttria-stabilized zirconia single crystals by 2.5-MeV electron and 2.6-GeV uranium ion irradiations. In addition to the O − and Zr 3+ paramagnetic centers already observed after X-ray irradiation at g =1.98 and g =1.89, we bring clear evidence of an unknown paramagnetic center at g =1.96 induced by charged particles. For the O − center, a maximum of the integrated spin intensity occurs near 50 K, suggesting some antiferromagnetic spin-pairing effect. Respective contributions of the ionization and atomic displacement processes in defect production are addressed.