Swift ions create a defect profile penetrating deep into a solid compared to the sampling range of typical slow positron beams, which may consequently study a homogeneous zone of defected materials. To investigate the defect population created by energetic ions, we studied alpha-Al(2)O(3) single crystals irradiated with swift Kr ions by using conventional and pulsed positron beams. Samples irradiated with krypton at 245 MeV energy in a wide fluence range show nearly saturated positron trapping above 5x10(10) ions cm(-2) fluence, indicating the creation of monovacancies in high concentration. At 1x10(14) ions cm(-2) irradiation a 500 ps long lifetime component appears, showing the creation of larger voids. This threshold corresponds well to the onset of the overlap of the damage zones after Bi ion irradiation along the ion trajectories observed with microscopic methods.