Comprehensive understanding of hillocks and ion tracks in ceramics irradiated with swift heavy ions

Ishikawa, Norito   ; Taguchi, Tomitsugu*; Ogawa, Hiroaki  

Amorphizable ceramics were irradiated with 200 MeV Au ions, and the as-irradiated samples were observed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The ion track diameter and hillock diameter are similar for all the amorphizable ceramics. For SrTiO and niobium-doped STO, 200 MeV Au ion irradiation and TEM observation were also performed. The ion track diameters in these materials are found to be markedly smaller than the hillock diameters. The ion tracks in these materials exhibit inhomogeneity, which is similar to that reported for non-amorphizable ceramics. On the other hand, the hillocks appear to be amorphous, and the amorphous feature is in contrast to the crystalline feature of hillocks observed in non-amorphizable ceramics. No marked difference is recognized between the nanostructures in STO and those in Nb-STO.