Electrical Resistivity Study of Lattice Defects Introduced in Copper by 1.25-Mev Electron Irradiation at 80°K

Abstract

The electrical resistivity change produced in copper by 1.25-Mev electron irradiation at 80\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}K has been measured. The recovery of this change upon annealing has been studied. A recovery state centered near room temperature exhibited a phenomenological activation energy of 0.60\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.01 ev and obeyed a second-order chemical rate equation. It is proposed that this state is associated with the annihilation of interstitial atoms and vacant lattice sites resulting from interstitial migration. The present results are compared with those of other workers in an effort to understand the differences in the recovery of the electrical resistivity change produced by electron and cyclotron particle irradiation.