Electron Radiation Defects in TaC1−x and TiC0.97

The electrical resistivity changes of TaC_0.99 and TaC_0.80 have been measured at 21 K during irradiation with electrons of incident energies ranging from 2.5 to 0.25 MeV: a non-zero production rate is observed, even at the lowest energies. The recovery of defects was followed up to 400 K for TaC_0.99 and TiC_0.97 irradiated with 2.25 MeV electrons and up to 160 K for TaC_0.80 irradiated with 0.75 MeV electrons. The results are compared to fast neutron radiation damage data. For TiC_0.97 and TaC_0.99, the contributions of the different defects to the production rates and recovery spectra are tentatively separated, and a rough estimate of Frenkel pair resistivities is given.