Ionoluminescence as sensor of structural disorder in crystalline SiO 2: Determination of amorphization threshold by swift heavy ions

Abstract

Ionoluminescence (IL) has been used in this work as a sensitive tool to probe the microscopic electronic processes and structural changes produced on quartz by the irradiation with swift heavy ions. The IL yields have been measured as a function of irradiation fluence and electronic stopping power. The results are consistent with the assignment of the 2.7 eV (460 nm) band to the recombination of self-trapped excitons at the damaged regions in the irradiated material. Moreover, it was possible to determine the threshold for amorphization by a single ion impact, as ˜1.7 keV/nm, which agrees well with the results of previous studies. © 2012 The Japan Society of Applied Physics.