Latent tracks in ion-irradiated LiTaO3 crystals: Damage morphology characterization and thermal spike analysis

Xinqing Han, Yong Liu, Miguel L. Crespillo, Eva Zarkadoula, Qing Huang, Xuelin Wang, Peng Liu

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

8 Scopus citations

Abstract

Systematic research on the response of crystal materials to the deposition of irradiation energy to electrons and atomic nuclei has attracted considerable attention since it is fundamental to understanding the behavior of various materials in natural and manmade radiation environments. This work examines and compares track formation in LiTaO3 induced by separate and combined effects of electronic excitation and nuclear collision. Under 0.71–6.17 MeV/u ion irradiation with electronic energy loss ranging from 6.0 to 13.8 keV/nm, the track damage morphologies evolve from discontinuous to continuous cylindrical zone. Based on the irradiation energy deposited via electronic energy loss, the subsequently induced energy exchange and temperature evolution processes in electron and lattice subsystems are calculated through the inelastic thermal spike model, demonstrating the formation of track damage and relevant thresholds of lattice energy and temperature. Combined with a disorder accumulation model, the damage accumulation in LiTaO3 produced by nuclear energy loss is also experimentally determined. The damage characterizations and inelastic thermal spike calculations further demonstrate that compared to damage-free LiTaO3, nuclear-collision-damaged LiTaO3 presents a more intense thermal spike response to electronic energy loss owing to the decrease in thermal conductivity and increase in electron–phonon coupling, which further enhance track damage.

Original languageEnglish
Article number877
Pages (from-to)1-12
Number of pages12
JournalCrystals
Volume10
Issue number10
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 2020

Funding

Acknowledgments: P.L. acknowledges the support from the National Laboratory of Heavy Ion Accelerator in Lanzhou, and the State Key Laboratory of Nuclear Physics and Technology, Peking University; E.Z. was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences, Materials Sciences and Engineering Division. Funding: This research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant numbers 11875038 and 11775135), the Young Scholars Program of Shandong University and the Youth Innovation Promotion Association CAS (grant number 2019262).

FundersFunder number
National Laboratory of Heavy Ion Accelerator in Lanzhou
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Science
Basic Energy Sciences
Shandong University
Division of Materials Sciences and Engineering
National Natural Science Foundation of China11875038, 11775135
Youth Innovation Promotion Association of the Chinese Academy of Sciences2019262
State Key Laboratory of Nuclear Physics and Technology, Peking University

    Keywords

    • Coupled effect
    • Energy loss process
    • Irradiation damage model
    • Latent track damage

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