Heat treatment of ion-irradiated silica-based thin films

• Published in: Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section B, Beam interactions with materials and atoms Beam interactions with materials and atoms, 2019-05, Vol.447 (C), p.55-58
• Main Authors: Shojaee, S.A., Qi, Y., Wang, Y.Q., Prenzel, T., Mehner, A., Lucca, D.A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: FT-IR spectroscopy; Ion irradiation; Raman spectroscopy; Sol-gel processing
• ISSN: 0168-583X; 1872-9584
• DOI: 10.1016/j.nimb.2019.03.044

The microstructural relaxation caused by heat treatment of ion-irradiated silica-based thin films was investigated. Hybrid organic-inorganic silica-based thin films were synthesized via a sol-gel process and were irradiated with 125 keV H+ or 250 keV N2+ ions with fluences of 1015 or 1016 ions/cm2. Ion irradiation was followed by heat treatment at 1100 °C or 1350 °C in an inert Ar atmosphere. The microstructure of the irradiated films before and after heat treatment was studied with a combination of Raman and infrared spectroscopies. The results indicated that while ion irradiation led to a defective structure of silica and graphitic C nanodomains, subsequent heat treatment led to structural relaxation and atomic reconfiguration of both silica and C. After heat treatment at 1100 °C, the microstructure of the films consisted of nanocrystalline graphite and structurally relaxed silica. After secondary heat treatment at 1350 °C, most of the C within the films vanished and the film microstructure only consisted of α-cristobalite silica.