Effect of ion irradiation in cadmium niobate pyrochlores

Abstract

Irradiation experiments have been performed for cadmium niobate (Cd 2Nb 2O 7) pyrochlore single crystals at both 150 and 300 K using 1.0 MeV Au 2+ ions over fluences ranging from 0.01 to 0.10 ions/nm 2. In-situ 3.0 MeV He + Rutherford backscattering spectrometry along the 〈1 0 0〉 -axial channeling direction (RBS/C) has been applied to study the damage states ranging from small defect concentrations to a fully amorphous state. Results show that the crystal can be readily amorphized under the irradiation conditions. Room-temperature recovery of the defects produced at 150 K has been observed, while the defects produced at 300 K are thermally stable at room temperature. Results also indicate that the RBS/C analysis used in this study induced negligible damage in the near-surface regime. In addition, irradiation at and below room temperature using He + and C 3+ ions leads to surface exfoliation at the corresponding damage peaks.