Examination of detailed frequency behavior of quartz resonators under low dose exposures to proton radiation

Abstract

Previous experiments have shown that the frequency shifts from low dose irradiation of quartz by protons recover and that no correlation of these shifts to the aluminum ion concentration of the quartz was found. The authors of these previous experiments posit the variation in low dose radiation sensitivity of quartz resonators to a manufacturing lot dependence which confounds the general analysis of mechanisms relating to quartz material properties, impurity defects and cut angle. Our work further explores the discoveries of these previous experiments using the detail observed in a screening of SC-cut quartz resonators for proton radiation sensitivity. Specifically, we use the peculiar signatures of the observed frequency drifts to test certain qualities of the quartz lattice structure relating to localized mechanical stress, intrinsic defects in the resonator and the possible influence of surface disorder. We attempt to correlate lattice quality to manufacturing procedures which would likely validate the lot dependence in radiation sensitivity asserted by previous publications.