Abstract
We have studied the effect of the yttria content on the recovery of paramagnetic centres in electron-irradiated yttria-stabilized zirconia (ZrO2: Y3+). Single crystals with 9.5 mol% or 18 mol% Y2O3 were irradiated with electrons of 1.0, 1.5, 2.0 and 2.5 MeV. Paramagnetic centre thermal annealing was studied by X-band EPR spectroscopy.
Hole-centres are found to be annealed more quickly, or at a lower temperature, for 18 mol% than for 9.5 mol% Y2O3. At long annealing times, a non-zero asymptotic behaviour is observed in the isothermal annealing curves of hole-centres and F+-type centres between 300 and 500 K. The normalized asymptotic concentration of both defects has a maximum value of about 0.5 for annealing temperatures near 375 K, below the onset of the (isochronal) recovery stage, regardless of the yttria content. Such an uncommon behaviour is analyzed on the basis of either kinetic rate equations of charge transfer or equilibria between point defects with different charge states.