The recovery of radiation damage in molybdenum

Molybdenum wires were neutron irradiated at liquid nitrogen temperature and subsequently annealed up to 800 °K. The residual resistivity showed two main recovery peaks, one at 130 °K and one at 440 °K, with associated activation energies of 0.40 ± 0.04 eV and 1.23 ± 0.06 eV respectively. The activation energy increases linearly with temperature between 80 °K and 350 °K where in a rather discontinuous way a 0.25 eV higher value is reached, which remains practically constant up to 480 °K. It is suggested that the 1.23 eV stage is basically governed by the same processes as the third annealing stage in the f.c.c. metals.