Heavy ion elastic recoil detection analysis set up for electronic sputtering studies

Abstract

Heavy ion elastic recoil detection analysis (ERDA) set up with a large solid angle (∼4.8 msr) Δ E−E position-sensitive telescope detector is developed at Inter University Accelerator Centre as a dedicated facility for the study of electronic sputtering of thin films under swift heavy ion (SHI) irradiation. The detector consists of a gas ionization chamber (Δ E) and a solid-state surface barrier detector (E) housed in a same assembly. The electronic sputtering yield (atoms/ion) is determined by analyzing on-line fluence-dependent ERDA data obtained from a variety of thin films. Large erosion (>10⁵ atoms/ion) of carbon from a-C:H by 150 MeV Ag¹³⁺ ions, evolution of nitrogen (∼880 atoms/ion) from copper nitride and depletion of oxygen (∼1000 atoms/ion) from copper oxide film under 200 MeV Au¹⁵⁺ ion impact are studied and reported in this work. The electronic sputtering of these materials is discussed on the basis of the thermal spike model of SHI and solid interaction.

Keywords:

• ERDA
• Telescope detector
• Electronic sputtering
• Thermal-spike model

Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the accelerator group of IUAC for providing us the ion beam facility. We are especially thankful to Dr. S. K. Datta for his important suggestions related to Detector and Ion Beam.