Surface structure investigation by means of ion beam-induced luminescence imaging: A preliminary study

Abstract

The idea of ionoluminescence 3-D imaging is introduced to provide surface structural information of luminescent samples from a depth of tens of micrometers. Application of broad ion beam in an in-air setup results in capturing high resolution 2-D images in short times. Therefore, ionoluminescence 3-D imaging is a non-destructive technique which can extract information such as inhomogeneity, porosity and roughness, especially from historical precious samples. In order to display the capabilities of the ionoluminescence 3-D imaging technique, the 3-D image of an inhomogeneous lapis lazuli sample is produced based on stereo-ionoluminescence approach. The results are indicative of high potentials of the applied imaging technique for revealing surface structural information of luminescent samples.