Amorphization of SiO2 Thin Films by Using 200 MeV Ag15+ Ions

Sputtering and structural modifications induced in silicon dioxide (SiO2) thin films under (10–40 MeV) Auq+heavy ion irradiation

“…These induced modifications depend on the as‐prepared crystalline nature of the target material and on the experimental irradiation parameters (e.g., the ion mass and charge state, irradiation temperature, incident kinetic energy and fluence). The transformation from polycrystalline to amorphous phase was recently confirmed 18 in case of 200 MeV Ag 15+ heavy ions irradiated (SiO 2 /Si) thin films deposited using sol‐gel spin‐coating technique, resulting in a decrease of the film conductivity, when increasing the incident ion fluence. When the electronic stopping power dominated, similar behavior was also observed in case of polycrystalline SiO 2 thin films 18 and synthetic quartz 20,24 irradiated by other ( 58 Ni, 86 Kr, 132 Xe, and 208 Pb) incident heavy ions with MeV/u kinetic energies.…”

“…The transformation from polycrystalline to amorphous phase was recently confirmed 18 in case of 200 MeV Ag 15+ heavy ions irradiated (SiO 2 /Si) thin films deposited using sol‐gel spin‐coating technique, resulting in a decrease of the film conductivity, when increasing the incident ion fluence. When the electronic stopping power dominated, similar behavior was also observed in case of polycrystalline SiO 2 thin films 18 and synthetic quartz 20,24 irradiated by other ( 58 Ni, 86 Kr, 132 Xe, and 208 Pb) incident heavy ions with MeV/u kinetic energies. A number of theoretical models supported by different experimental observations provide a better understanding of the mechanisms behind the ion‐irradiation induced structural modifications in silicon dioxide 18–20 and other crystalline materials 24,25 .…”

“…It is then transferred to the lattice atoms via local thermal spikes, leading to the melting of the target material and a change in its physical proprieties. Many published works 3–25 have been devoted in the past to sputtering and surface state modifications induced in SiO 2 crystalline materials, where different kinds of surface and structural changes (hillocks, swelling, craters, crystallization and grain growth, amorphization) were readily observed 18–25 by various techniques, such as transmission electron (TEM) and atomic force (AFM) microscopies as well as characterized in microstructure using the X‐ray diffraction (XRD) spectroscopy. The observed surface and structural effects were found to be useful for a several number of applied fields, particularly, those of electronics and photonics associated to detection devices 1–3 .…”

“…Whereas for MeV heavy ion irradiation, where mechanisms involving electronic inelastic collisions are dominant, significant surface changes (i.e., grain growth and surface roughening) were clearly noticed in case of Bi semi‐metallic material 16,17 and were correlated to the RBS‐measured sputtering yields versus ion fluence. Therefore, the material response depends not only to ion‐interactions mechanisms but also on electrical, thermal, and structural proprieties of the solid target material 18–23 . In case of insulating materials, a number of previous investigations on silicon dioxide under MeV heavy ion irradiation were focused on the structural modifications inducing crystalline to amorphous phase transformations 18–20 or reverse phase 21–23 (and references therein).…”

“…Therefore, the material response depends not only to ion‐interactions mechanisms but also on electrical, thermal, and structural proprieties of the solid target material 18–23 . In case of insulating materials, a number of previous investigations on silicon dioxide under MeV heavy ion irradiation were focused on the structural modifications inducing crystalline to amorphous phase transformations 18–20 or reverse phase 21–23 (and references therein). These induced modifications depend on the as‐prepared crystalline nature of the target material and on the experimental irradiation parameters (e.g., the ion mass and charge state, irradiation temperature, incident kinetic energy and fluence).…”