Abstract
The modification of the nanostructure of silicon suboxide films as a result of high-energy heavy-ion irradiation has been studied for the entire range . The films have been obtained by radio-frequency magnetron sputter deposition. For ions and an angle of incidence of 20° with the plane of the surface, and for , it takes a fluence of about to reach a infrared absorption spectrum, which is supposed to be characteristic for a composite film structure. For smaller values, it takes a much larger fluence. The interpretation of the IR spectra is corroborated for the surface region by results from x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The results present evidence for a mechanism, in which the phase separation takes place in the thermal spike, initiated by the energy deposited in many overlapping independent ion tracks. Such a process is possible since the suboxides fulfill the conditions for spinodal decomposition.
- Received 6 July 2004
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.71.125329
©2005 American Physical Society