Investigation of electron-irradiated zinc by diffuse x-ray scattering. I. Self-interstitials in zinc

Single crystals of zinc were irradiated at 6 K with 3-MeV electrons producing electrical resistivity changes varying from 32 to 215 n{Ω}cm. Diffuse x-ray scattering from the irradiated samples was measured near ($00.h$), ($h0.0$), and (hh.0) reflections. From the distribution of the diffuse scattering intensity we conclude that the configuration of the self-interstitial in Zn is a dumbbell aligned along the c axis. A combination of lattice parameter, electrical resistivity, and Huang scattering measurements yields a volume change per interstitial of 3.6 atomic volumes (assuming a vacancy relaxation of -0.6 atomic volumes) and a specific resistivity per Frenkel pair ρF=15.3 {μ}{Ω}cm/at.%.