Insights into different stages of formation of swift heavy ion tracks

RA Rymzhanov and N Medvedev and JH O'Connell and VA Skuratov and AJ van Vuuren and SA Gorbunov and AE Volkov, NUCLEAR INSTRUMENTS & METHODS IN PHYSICS RESEARCH SECTION B-BEAM INTERACTIONS WITH MATERIALS AND ATOMS, 473, 27-42 (2020).

DOI: 10.1016/j.nimb.2020.04.005

This review summarizes our results on effects of different stages of the formation kinetics of swift heavy ion (SHI) tracks on final structural changes. The developed multiscale approach describes in detail the formation of individual tracks and inter-track interaction in various amorphizable (Y3Al5O12, Mg2SiO4) and non-amorphizable (Al2O3, MgO) dielectrics. A comparison between the modeling and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy analysis of SHI irradiated samples allows to validate the developed model and to investigate links between the basic properties of the materials and features of the kinetics of structural transformations of the targets. We outline an influence and importance of each successive stage of excitation and relaxation on final observable structure modifications within tracks, starting from the SHI induced electronic excitation, electrons and holes transport, energy exchange with the target lattice, transient excitation and relaxation of the atomic system, and ultimate damage formation.

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