We report the elongation of embedded Au nanoparticles (NPs) in three different matrices, i.e. amorphous carbon (a-C), crystalline indium tin oxide (InxSn1-xOz; ITO) and crystalline calcium fluoride (CaF2), under irradiations of 4 MeV C60+ cluster ions and 200 MeV Xe14+ ions. Under 4 MeV C60 cluster irradiation, strong sputtering is induced in CaF2 layer so that the whole the layer was completely lost at a fluence of 5 × 1013 ions cm−2. Au NPs were partly observed in the SiO2, probably due to the recoil implantation. Amorphous carbon (a-C) layer exhibits low sputtering loss even under 4 MeV C60 irradiation. However, the elongation in a-C layer was low. While the ITO layer showed a certain decrease in thickness under 4 MeV C60 irradiation, large elongation of Au NPs was observed under both 4 MeV C60 and 200 MeV Xe irradiation. The ITO layer preserved the crystallinity even after large elongation was induced. This is the first report of the elongation of metal NPs in a crystalline matrix.

Evolution of depth profiles of the refractive index in Y3Al5O12 (YAG) crystals were studied under 200 MeV 136Xe14+ ion irradiation, since the index can be related with the stress change and/or the defect formation by the irradiation. Using the prism-coupling and the end-surface coupling methods, various waveguide (WG) modes were detected. Then, the index depth profiles were determined by reproducing the observed WG modes. The index changes were observed at three different depth regions; (i) a sharp dip at 13 μm in depth, which is attributed to the nuclear stopping Sn peak, (ii) a plateau near the surface between 0 and 3 μm in depth, which can be ascribed to the electronic stopping Se, since Se has a very broad peak at the surface, and (iii) a broad peak at 6 μm in depth. Since the last peak is ascribed to neither of Se nor Sn peak, it could be attributed to the synergy effect of Se and Sn.

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