EPR of radiation defects in lithium-oxyfluoride glass ceramics

We studied oxyfluoride composites based on lithium silicate glasses with yttrium fluorides and rare-earth dopants. The electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) has been used to obtain information about radiation induced defects in these materials. Spectra have been measured before and after X-ray irradiation at room temperature and at liquid nitrogen temperature. Fluoride crystallites within samples were created by means of thermal treatment at specific temperatures. EPR spectra of radiation induced defects in oxyfluoride glass ceramics, in which crystallites have not been yet created, show no explicit hfs interaction of fluorine nuclei. However, in glass ceramics, which already contains fluoride crystallites, the hfs characteristic to fluorine nuclei appears in the EPR spectra. EPR hyperfine structure could be explained within a model of an F-type centre in YF₃ crystalline phase.