Welcome to the new version of CaltechAUTHORS. Login is currently restricted to library staff. If you notice any issues, please email coda@library.caltech.edu
Published March 1984 | public
Journal Article

Track damage and erosion of insulators by ion-induced electronic processes

Abstract

Track damage and the associated ejection of atoms and molecules from insulators, which occur as a result of ion-induced electronic excitation, are of interest both in their own right and because of the mechanisms through which the energy in the excited electrons is transformed into atomic motion. In this paper an overview is given of the phenomena that are observed. We show that there is a remarkable similarity between the damage profile along the ion's track in the solid and the yield of ejected atoms at the energy that corresponds to each point on the track. It is also seen that the density of extended defects (or, correspondingly, the ejected particle yield) appears to have a "universal" form that is weakly dependent on the type of material. In the model presented this is a consequence of the inner-shell ionization of light elements in the solid by the incident ion; the resulting Auger decay produces an intense ionization spike that locally triggers the track formation/erosion process. This model allows the estimation of erosion yields/damage profiles for different ions and materials.

Additional Information

© 1984 Elsevier Science Publishers B.V. Supported in part by the NSF (PHY82-15500 and CHE 81-13273) and NASA (NAGW-202). I would like to acknowledge discussions with my colleagues (Peter Haff and Charles Watson) and students (Kelly Cherrey) that have helped me to organize and refine the ideas contained in this paper. Special thanks are also owed to Robert Fleischer who has provided a number of references that were otherwise unknown to the author. I am, in this regard, indebted to Keith Jones and Patrick Richard who helped me to find references to relevant data on K-shell ionization processes. Both Noriaki Itoh and Bo Sundqvist provided essential ideas during the development of this model. Finally, I express my appreciation to Allan Bromley for his hospitality at Yale University, where I have found a peaceful spot to write this paper.

Additional details

Created:
August 19, 2023
Modified:
October 18, 2023