Mechanisms of surface nanostructuring of Al2O3 and MgO by grazing incidence irradiation with swift heavy ions

We experimentally discovered that Al2O3 and MgO exhibit well-pronounced nanometric modifications on the surfaces when irradiated under grazing incidence with 23 MeV I beam, in contrast to normal incidence irradiation with the same ion beam when no damage was found. Moreover, ions in these two materi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:arXiv.org 2020-03
Main Authors: Karlusic, Marko, Rymzhanov, Ruslan A, O'Connell, Jacques H, Brockers, Lara, Kristina Tomic Luketic, Siketic, Zdravko, Fazinic, Stjepko, Dubcek, Pavo, Jaksic, Milko, Provatas, Georgios, Medvedev, Nikita, Volkov, Alexander E, Schleberger, Marika
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aluminum oxide
Computer simulation
Grazing incidence
Grooves
Heavy ions
I beams
Ion beams
Magnesium oxide
Radiation damage
Recrystallization
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Summary:We experimentally discovered that Al2O3 and MgO exhibit well-pronounced nanometric modifications on the surfaces when irradiated under grazing incidence with 23 MeV I beam, in contrast to normal incidence irradiation with the same ion beam when no damage was found. Moreover, ions in these two materials produce notably different structures: grooves surrounded with nanohillocks on MgO surfaces vs. smoother, roll-like discontinuous structures on the surfaces of Al2O3. To explain these results, detailed numerical simulations were performed. We identified that a presence of the surface inhibits recrystallization process, thereby preventing transient tracks from recovery, and thus forming observable nanopatterns. Furthermore, a difference in the viscosities in molten states in Al2O3 vs. MgO explains the differences in the created nanostructures. Our results thus provide a deeper understanding of the fundamental processes of surface nanostructuring, potentially allowing for controlled production of periodic surface nanopatterns.
ISSN:2331-8422