Fusion/fission neutron damage ratio for alumina

Abstract Ultra-violet optical absorption is used to determine the ratio of the volume density of optically active anion vacancies following fusion versus fission-spectrum neutron exposures of high-purity, crystalline α-Al 2 O 3 . This experimental damage ratio of 2.3 compares favorably with Robinson's calculated ratio of 2.0 for aluminum. When the sapphire results are compared with previous reports for crystalline magnesia, similar anion damage behavior is found.