C. Dufour

The Se sensitivity of metals under swift-heavy-ion irradiation: a transient thermal process

In the framework of the thermal-spike model the present paper deals with the effect of the electronic stopping power (Se) in metals irradiated by swift heavy ions. Using the strength of the electron-phonon coupling g(z) with the number of valence electrons z as the unique free parameter, the increment of lattice temperature induced by swift-heavy-ion irradiation is calculated. Choosing z=2, the calculated threshold of defect creation by Se for Ti, Zr, Co and Fe is about 11, 27.5, 28 and 41 keV nm-1, in good agreement with experiment. Taking the same z value, the calculation shows that Al, Cu, Nb and Ag are Se insensitive. Moreover, in Fe, the differences in the damage created by U ions of different energies but exhibiting the same value of Se may be interpreted by a velocity effect. Using z=2, other calculations suggest that Be (Se>or=11 keV nm-1), Ga (Se>or=5 keV nm-1) and Ni (Se>or=49 keV nm-1) should be sensitive to Se but Mg should not. These examples put the stress on the effect of the physical parameters governing the electron-phonon coupling constant apart from z determination: the sound velocity linked to the Debye temperature and the lattice thermal conductivity. Furthermore, a simple criterion is proposed in order to predict the Se sensitivity of metals.

A high-resistivity phase induced by swift heavy-ion irradiation of Bi: a probe for thermal spike damage?

Pure bismuth samples were irradiated at 20 K with swift heavy ions from 18O to 238U in the GeV range. The rate of the induced damage was deduced from in situ electrical resistance measurements. Above a threshold in the electronic stopping power Se equal to 24 keV nm-1, the damage is due to electronic slowing down. Above 30 keV nm-1, the electronic slowing down is efficient enough to induce latent tracks attributed to the appearance of a high-resistivity phase. The induced latent tracks radii can be up to 21.9 nm for Se=51 keV nm-1 which is the largest value reported so far for non-radiolytic materials. The evolution with Se of the latent tracks radii is calculated on the basis of the thermal spike model, assuming a realistic value for the electron-phonon coupling constant. A rather good agreement is obtained which supports the idea that the thermal spike could be operative in the observed radiation damage.

Optimized conditions for an enhanced coupling rate between Er ions and Si nanoclusters for an improved 1.54-μm emission

The present article deals with the optimized processing conditions leading to the highest density of Si nanoclusters which play the role of sensitizing centers for the nearby Er ions within a silica matrix. The layers were obtained by reactive magnetron sputtering under a plasma of Ar mixed to different rates of hydrogen, and were subsequently annealed at various temperatures. The increase of the dilution degree of the Ar plasma with hydrogen was found to multiply the nucleation sites whose density foreshadows that of the Si nanoclusters formed upon annealing. Both hydrogen content and annealing temperature govern the growth of the clusters. The maximum density of efficient sensitizing centers was obtained for hydrogen rate in the plasma of 50% and annealing at 900 °C. This has directly led to the enhancement of the coupling rate between the Si nanoclusters and the Er ions, as reflected by the ten times increase of the proportion of optically active ions, compared to that for standard conditions. In paral...

Thermal spike model in the electronic stopping power regime

Abstract Two models have been proposed in order to explain the appearance of latent tracks induced in matter by the slowing down process of ions in the electronic stopping power regime. The first one was the thermal spike proposed by Desauer and reconsidered for metals by Seitz and Koehler. The second one was the ionic spike proposed by Fleischer et al in order to explain that metals are insensitive to the electronic excitation produced by fission fragment irradiations. In both models the key is the high mobility of the electrons in metals. The ionic spike model was considered as ineffective because of the too quick screening by the return electrons which inhibits a Coulomb impulse. In the thermal spike model the electronic energy was considered as spread out in a too large volume to induce a significant increase of the lattice temperature. Since that time a systematic use of heavy ion accelerators has enlarged the number of materials (metals, semiconductors and insulators) which present a defect creation...

Evidence of a phase transition induced in zirconia by high energy heavy ions

Monoclinic zirconia samples were irradiated with 300 MeV Ge and Ni ions at increasing ion fluences. Their structural evolution was monitored in situ by x-ray diffraction and ex situ by Raman spectroscopy. No amorphization of zirconia was observed in both cases. However, a transition from the monoclinic to the tetragonal phase was found in the case of Ge ion irradiation. On the contrary, no such effect was detected upon Ni ion irradiation. A comparison of these experiments indicates that the electronic energy loss released by swift heavy ion irradiation needs to be quite in excess of ∼12 keV nm−1 in order to induce a monoclinic to a tetragonal phase transition in pure (i.e., unstabilized) zirconia.

Ion Beam Mixing Effects Induced in the Latent Tracks of Swift Heavy Ions in a Fe/Si Multilayer

By following the experimental results recently published about electronic-energy-deposition-induced effects in metallic materials, a mixing effect is observed in an Fe/Si multilayer irradiated by 650 MeV uranium ions. Mossbauer spectroscopy shows that, after a fluence as low as 1013 cm-2, an Fe 4.5 nm/Si 3.5 nm multilayer has been made almost homogeneous by ion mixing. On electron micrographs, at very low fluence, latent tracks are observed where the magnetic properties are drastically modified from the previous crystalline ferromagnetic state.

Nanometric size effects on irradiation of tin oxide powder

A nanometric powder of tin oxide (SnO2) has been irradiated with lead ions. The same grains have been observed by Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) before and after irradiation at a fluence of 5×1012 Pb cm−2. The shape of largest grains strongly changes while the smallest ones disappear. This phenomenon has been explained by using the thermal spike model. It appears that the irradiation induces an increase of the internal pressure in the grains leading to their explosion. In the smallest grains, the calculated maximal temperatures exceed the boiling point so that these grains disappear.

Phase transformation induced in pure zirconia by high energy heavy ion irradiation

Abstract Samples of monoclinic zirconia were irradiated with heavy ions having incident energies in the range of a few hundred MeV giving then rise to a slowing down essentially caused by high electronic excitations. The characterizations of the samples by X-ray diffraction and complementary Raman spectroscopy analyses revealed two main features. First, in the electronic stopping power regime, it is only when the electronic energy loss is above a threshold near 13 keV nm−1 that monoclinic zirconia undergoes a transformation to the tetragonal phase. Second, the evolution of the amount of the tetragonal phase with the ion fluence exhibits a sigmoidal shape suggesting a mechanism for phase transformation which very likely needs two ion impacts.

High electronic excitations and ion beam mixing effects in high energy ion irradiated Fe/Si multilayers

Mossbauer spectroscopy (57Fe) shows evidence for mixing effects induced by electronic energy deposition in nanoscale Fe/Si multilayers irradiated with swift heavy ions. A decrease in the mixing efficiency with electronic stopping power is reported; a threshold is found, under which iron environment modifications no longer occur. The kinetics of Fe–Si phase formation after irradiation suggests the existence of three regimes: (i) for high excitation levels, a magnetic amorphous phase is formed directly in the wake of the incoming ion and an almost complete mixing is reached at low fluence (1013 U/cm2); (ii) for low excitation levels, a paramagnetic Si-rich amorphous phase is favored at the interface while crystalline iron subsists at high fluences; (iii) for intermediate excitation levels, saturation effects are observed and the formation rate of both magnetic and paramagnetic phases points to direct mixing in the ion wake but with a reduced track length in comparison to U irradiation. The measured interfac...

Phase transformation of polycrystalline Y2O3 under irradiation with swift heavy ions

Abstract The effects of swift heavy ions in bulk solid targets have been extensively studied. Some effects are specifically related with the large densities of energy absorbed by the target electron gas in the projectile wake. One remarkable effect observed in the present work is the crystalline solid state phase transition of Y 2 O 3 as a result of ionizing irradiation by GeV heavy ions. Our X-ray diffraction measurements give the first evidence of the cubic to monoclinic transformation of Y 2 O 3 under high energy heavy ion irradiation.