Electric Conductivity of Vitreous Silica during Pulsed-Electron-Beam Irradiation

Abstract

We describe a measurement of the transient conductivity induced in amorphous Si0 2 during irradiation by an intense and energetic electron beam. Preliminary results of an experiment [1] we performed at the Pulsed High -Energy Radiographic Machine Emitting X Rays (PHERMEX) facility of Los Alamos National Laboratory indicate that a beam of electrons of energy 17.5 MeV, of current density 1 kA/cm 2 , and of micropulse duration 3 nsec induce in a-Si0 2 an electric conductivity -6 x 10-3 (g-cm)"l . This value is 15 orders of magnitude larger than the ordinary (ionic) conductivity of the material [2].