The centers [AlO4/M+]+, formed in α-quartz by X-irradiation at 77 K, contain an aluminum ion substituted for a silicon ion, with an electron removed from a neighboring oxygen by the ionizing radiation. In addition, there is an interstitial ion M+ which acted as a charge compensator before the irradiation. Centers [AlO4/H+]+ and [AlO4/Li+]+ have been re-examined by EPR (at ca. 35 K), including measurement of small hyperfine splittings due to the compensator ions. The spin-Hamiltonian parameter matrices (i.e., [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text]) show that the hole-trapping oxygen in these species is linked via a "short" bond to aluminum (there are two different Si–O bond lengths in quartz). The probable positions of the compensating ions (Li+, H+) in a channel parallel to the crystallographic c-axis are reported.
