Study of irradiation damage in borosilicate glass induced by He ions and electrons

Abstract Radiation effects on borosilicate glass induced by 0.5 MeV He ions and 1.2 MeV electrons have been investigated by nano-indentation and Raman measurements. The nano-indentation results indicated that the average hardness of the He-irradiated glasses were reduced by 14% with the nuclear energy deposition, and kept constant after the nuclear energy deposition exceeding 5 × 10 20  keV/cm 3 . By the Raman measurements, the polymerization of the silicate network was found to be enhanced by the electronic energy deposition in the electron-irradiated glasses. It is concluded that the nuclear energy deposition is the major factor for the evolution in the plastic response of the borosilicate glass, while the electronic energy deposition influences the change of silicate network and migration of alkaline, which causes sight change of the mechanical properties.