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Title: Microstructural response of InGaN to swift heavy ion irradiation

Journal Article · · Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research. Section B, Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms

A monocrystalline In0.18Ga0.82N film of ~275 nm in thickness grown on a GaN/Al2O3 substrate was irradiated with 290 MeV 238U32+ ions to a fluence of 1.2 x 12 cm-2 at room temperature. The irradiated sample was characterized using helium ion microscopy (HIM), Rutherford backscattering spectrometry under ion-channeling conditions (RBS/C), and high-resolution x-ray diffraction (HRXRD). The irradiation leads to formation of ion tracks throughout the thin In0.18Ga0.82N film and the 3.0 µm thick GaN buffer layer. The mean diameter of the tracks in In0.18Ga0.82N is ~9 nm, as determined by HIM examination. Combination of the HIM and RBS/C data suggests that the material in the track is likely to be highly disordered or fully amorphized, in contrast to a crystalline structure within the ion track in GaN. Lattice relaxation in In0.18Ga0.82N and a distribution of d-spacing of the (0002) planes in GaN with lattice expansion are observed after irradiation.

Research Organization:
Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States). Environmental Molecular Sciences Lab. (EMSL)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
DOE Contract Number:
AC05-76RL01830
OSTI ID:
1339885
Report Number(s):
PNNL-SA-119196; 49138; 49576; AT2030110
Journal Information:
Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research. Section B, Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms, Vol. 388, Issue C; ISSN 0168-583X
Publisher:
Elsevier
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English