Propagation of dislocations in electron irradiated lithium fluoride

Abstract A study of the properties of dislocations in irradiated materials is fundamental to an understanding of the effect of irradiation on mechanical properties. The development in recent years of etching techniques which produce etch pits sited at the point of emergence of dislocation lines at the surface of a crystal has provided a useful method of observing dislocations. The 50% hydrofluoric acid, 50% acetic acid and ferric fluoride etch for lithium fluoride, developed by Gihnan and Johnston (1956) and used as a tool in the present investigation, is particularly good since it reveals all dislocations, does not seem to depend on impurity atoms and does not require any annealing of the specimen.