Ion track etching of PVDF films irradiated with fast C cluster ions

Kitamura, Akane; Yamaki, Tetsuya*; Chiba, Atsuya*; Usui, Aya 

We investigated the track-etched surface of PVDF films irradiated with C cluster ions, comparing the data with C monoatomic ions. PVDF films were irradiated with 6 MeV C cluster ions. The energy of the each carbon ion is 100 keV/atom; thus, for comparison, the PVDF films were also irradiated with 100 keV C ions. SEM and AFM observation showed that the surface irradiated with C cluster ions apparently possessed flat-bottomed pores with an average diameter and depth of approximately 400 and 250 nm, respectively. On the other hand, track-etched pores were also formed on the surface irradiated with C ions, but their morphology was irregular or obscure. In the irradiation with the C cluster ions, the surface diameter of track-etched pores increased with increasing the etching time. The tracks of the 100 keV C ions seemed to be hardly developed by the etching when the time. In conclusion, the C cluster ions irradiation caused a large size of etchable tracks on the PVDF surface. The result could represent the effect of local and simultaneous collision by the aggregated ions.