Helium ion implantation in SiAlON: Characterisation of cavity structures using TEM and IBA

Abstract

Highly swollen nanoporous layers produced in material surfaces by He implantation are of special interest for applications such as catalysis. Here we investigate whether nanoporous layers can be produced in the covalently bonded insulating ceramic, SiAlON. The retention of highly swollen porous structures in thinned TEM sections prepared from such hard brittle materials is particularly challenging. We have successfully prepared such sections both parallel to, and perpendicular to, the implanted surface. At intermediate doses the bubble structures are very similar to those found in metals. At high helium doses local swellings at depths around the mean projected range of the He ions (∼360 nm) are estimated to be well in excess of 200%. Bubble structures are stable under heating to temperatures up to 1200°C. It is found that the highly cavitated layer is buried below a crystalline overlayer of compact SiAlON. This overlayer is sufficiently compact to resist the diffusion of gold from a surface layer to the cavities below.