Overview of SHI Induced Track Morphology in Crystalline Non-Metals from Direct Observation with TEM

JH O'Connell and VA Skuratov and AJ van Vuuren and RA Rymzhanov, ACTA PHYSICA POLONICA A, 136, 233-236 (2019).

DOI: 10.12693/APhysPolA.136.233

We studied the track morphology of 167 MeV Xe ion irradiated amorphizable and non-amorphizable single crystals, in the non- overlapping track regime, by direct observation with transmission electron microscopy. Simulation of the early stages of the interaction shows transient melting for all materials while the interaction of closely spaced tracks that do not overlap was found to increase with a material's resistance to track formation. This lead to track density saturation and delayed amorphization of the bulk crystal. We propose a structure dependent recrystallisation rate as the main factor determining the size and morphology of ion tracks.

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