Relevance of high brightness ion source and femtosecond laser, in the fundamental study of ion-polymer interactions

Abstract

Starting from measurements of different physical effects or properties, we can estimate that the radius r of the damage tube produced by an ion slowing down in polymers (PI, PMMA) with an intermediate energy (50–240) keV, ranges from 0.17 nm to 25 nm. The energy density deposited by a single ion of this energy domain can so define an energy density range: (5–8000) keV Å −3, in which this one lost by a laser pulse of 10 −8 s at 193 nm ranks. However we show that the concerned time constants are quite different, and that only short laser pulses (fs) can reproduce the dynamics of the ion-matter energy transfer. Next, we show how the knowledge of this dynamics is of high interest to obtain new materials, by modifying the recombination processes in the time scale 10 −8s – 10 −4s, when we take advantage of the high ion fluence rates produced by a Field Effect Ion Source (FEIS).