Caesium colloids in X-irradiated CsCl and CsBr

X irradiation of CsCl and CsBr single crystals at temperatures between 250 and 350K produces caesium colloidal particles. The colloid production efficiency is strongly dependent on the sample treatment. A strong increase in the colloid production efficiency for mechanically polished samples with respect to those chemically polished has been observed. A mechanism based on the influence of the dislocations induced by the mechanical treatment is proposed. The thermal destruction of the colloids is accompanied by the emission of light whose spectral distribution coincides with that of the emission produced under X-ray excitation. The TL glow peaks shift toward higher temperatures as the total dose increases. In order to account for that shift a model in which interstitials are released from different traps which change with the irradiation time has been tentatively proposed.