Radiation damage in β-Ga2O3 induced by swift heavy ions

Abstract

The amorphous latent tracks in β-Ga2O3 single crystal irradiated with ∼5–10 MeV u−1 181Ta and 86Kr ions were investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). TEM images showed that the mean diameter of latent tracks increased from 2.2 to 8.8 nm with electronic energy loss (Se) values increasing from 18.3 to 41.5 keV nm−1. Moreover, the inelastic thermal spike model was used to predict the latent track size. The calculation results agreed well with the experimental results and the predicted Se threshold of latent track formation in β-Ga2O3 was about 17 keV nm−1 for 5–10 MeV u−1 heavy ions.