TEM study of surface nanostructure of ceramics irradiated with swift heavy ions

Ishikawa, Norito   ; Taguchi, Tomitsugu*; Kitamura, Akane

In most of the previous studies, hillocks have been imaged by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Although AFM is suitable for measuring height of hillocks, it is not suitable for measuring their diameter. Since diameter measurement by AFM is significantly affected by the curvature of the probe tip, most diameter data are subjected to a systematic error of some nanometers. One of the alternative methods for observing hillocks is to use transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Comparison between hillock diameter and ion track diameter is important for elucidating the mechanism of nanostructuring by SHI. In the present study, YFeO (yttrium iron garnet, YIG) were irradiated with various SHI having high electronic stopping power (20-35 keV/nm), and the as-irradiated samples were observed by TEM. As a result, the hillock diameter appears to be almost the same as the ion track diameter.