Latent ion tracks in mica studied with scanning force microscopy in air and in vacuum

Abstract

Latent ion tracks in mica have been studied using scanning force microscopy (SFM) on freshly cleaved samples in air and under vacuum conditions. The tracks have been produced by irradiating mica with 2.8 MeV/u uranium ions. The topography images were recorded simultaneously both in forward and backward scanning direction. When scanning in air a strong friction force on the latent ion tracks complicates the analysis of their topography. Since we measured in vacuum these hillocks can be seen due to a drastically reduced friction. Thus, we observed hillocks of about 0.5 nm height.