Nanostructural changes in solids irradiated with heavy ions

The results of studies on surface nanostructuring of electronic and energy materials irradiated with fast heavy ions (FHI) are presented in this report. Practical and fundamental interest in radiation effects at interfaces arises from the fact that the excitation kinetics of the target surface differs significantly from processes in massive samples due to possible particle exchange with the environment.

Structural response of functional materials to FHI irradiation was studied using complementary experimental and numerical methods: transmission electron microscopy and a multiscale approach combining TREKIS Monte Carlo model and molecular dynamic simulation. Different stages of formation kinetics of individual ion tracks and the consequences of their overlap in some amorphizing and non-amorphizing solids are discussed in this work. For the first time the formation mechanisms of various nanoscale defects on the surface: spherical crystalline protrusions, amorphous hemispherical hillocks, conical tracks in the near-surface region, extended structures under irradiation at sliding angles, and through nanochannels as well were studied. Modification of the shape of dielectric nanocrystals under high-fluence FHI irradiation has been studied.