Effects of radiation damage in minerals on their electron back-scatter coefficient

The structural state (i.e., order-disorder) of minerals and other solids analyzed in an electron microprobe or scanning electron microscope may notably affect the back-scattering of incident beam electrons. Structural heterogeneity, as it is commonly observed in radiation-damaged minerals, may thus contribute to signal intensity variations in back-scattered electron (BSE) images. Such structural BSE effects are easily overlooked because they may be insignificant in cases of minerals with high internal Z contrast. Correspondingly, it has generally been assumed that BSE images of single-crystals of minerals are mainly controlled by the sample’s chemical heterogeneity. However, structural heterogeneity cannot be neglected in the discussion of BSE images; this is especially the case if crystals only show minor Z variations.
We show with two examples that radiation damage (i.e., gradual to complete destruction of the crystal lattice) results in a significant increase of the back-scatter coefficient. The phenomenon is assigned to lowered penetration depths of electrons and thus related to electron channelling contrast. The BSE of natural zircon crystals is in most cases predominantly controlled by radiation damage. Annealing studies revealed that after structural reconstitution, the BSE intensity is notably decreased and much more uniform, in spite of the same chemical heterogeneity (especially concentrations of Hf and U) as before the treatment. As an even more unambiguous example we present observations on irradiation-damaged silicon. Damage up to complete amorphization was produced upon implantation of Si ions. Consequently there are no chemical variations and no Z contrast in this case. Examples show that the degree of structural damage needs to be considered in the discussion and interpretation of BSE images of radiation-damaged minerals.