Abstract
Color centers and evolution of structure defects were investigated in LiF crystals irradiated at room temperature with 150 MeV 84Kr ions with a beam current of 10nA/cm2 in the fluence range 1011 - 1014 ions/cm2 at the cyclotron accelerator DC-60 (Astana, Kazakhstan). At the fluence of 1011 ions/cm2, SEM imaging revealed mainly formation of etchable ion tracks. Above this fluence, severe structural modifications in the irradiated layer were observed which include the ion-induced formation of dislocations and grains with nano-scale dimensions. The role of fluence in the concentration of electronic color centers and structural modifications is discussed.