Microstructure and atomic disordering of magnesium aluminate spinel irradiated with swift heavy ions

T. Yamamoto, M. Shimada, K. Yasuda, S. Matsumura, Y. Chimi, N. Ishikawa

Research output: Contribution to journalConference articlepeer-review

13 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

We have investigated the microstructure and atomic disordering of nearly stoichiometric magnesium aluminate spinel (MgO • 1.1Al2O 3), irradiated with 200 MeV Xe14+ ions (Se = 25 keV/nm). Transmission electron microscopy techniques of bright-field (BF) and high-resolution (HR) imaging, as well as high angular resolution electron channeling X-ray spectroscopy (HARECXS) were employed for quantitative analysis of radiation-induced structural change. BF images of ion tracks show columnar dark contrast of ∼4 nm in diameter accompanying distinct black or white dots at the incident surface. Clear lattice fringes are observed in HR images even inside the ion tracks, indicating that the spinel crystals are not amorphized but partially disordered along the ion tracks. HARECXS analysis showed that cation disordering progresses successively with ion fluence, and the disordered regions are found to extend over 12.8 ± 0.9 nm in diameter for Al ions and 9.6 ± 0.6 nm for Mg ions along the ion tracks. This chemically disordered region is much larger than the strained volume detected by BF and HR images.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)235-238
Number of pages4
JournalNuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research, Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms
Volume245
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Apr 2006
EventProceedings of the Sixth International Symposium on Swift Heavy Ions in Matter (SHIM 2005) -
Duration: May 28 2005May 31 2005

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Nuclear and High Energy Physics
  • Instrumentation

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