Electronic stopping power of slow-light channeling ions in ZnTe from first principles

Abstract

Nonadiabatic dynamics simulations are performed to investigate the electronic stopping power of a helium ion moving through ZnTe crystalline thin films under channeling conditions. Using ab initio time-dependent density-functional theory, we found by direct simulation that electronic stopping power versus projectile velocity deviates from velocity proportionality and displays a transition between two velocity regimes for helium ions channeling along middle crystalline axes in $\ensuremath{\langle}100\ensuremath{\rangle}$ and $\ensuremath{\langle}111\ensuremath{\rangle}$ channels and also in a $\ensuremath{\langle}110\ensuremath{\rangle}$ channel with low-impact parameters. This transition causes a change in the slope of the energy loss versus ion velocity curve at a characteristic velocity related to the impact parameter and the lattice plane spacing. It may be an indication of extra energy loss channel beyond the electron-hole excitation. To analyze it, we checked the charge transfer between the moving projectiles and host atoms. It is found that the soft transition between two velocity regimes can be attributed to the resonant coherent excitation stimulated by the time-periodic potential experienced by the channeling ion and also the charge exchange in close encounters between Helium ion and host atoms.