Impacts of GeV heavy ions in amorphous metallic alloys investigated by near-field scanning microscopy

¹ Laboratoire de Physique de la Matière Condensée (CNRS-ERS 5646  ) SNCMP, INSA - Complexe Scientifique de Rangueil, 31077 Toulouse, France
² CIRIL, rue Claude Bloch, B. P. 5133, 14040 Caen cedex, France
³ Institute for General Physics, Eötvös University Museum krt 6-8, H-1088 Budapest, Hungary
⁴ Centre de Spectrométrie Nucléaire et de Spectrométrie de Masse IN2P3-CNRS, Bât 108, 91405 Orsay, France

Received: 21 July 1997
Accepted: 21 October 1997

Abstract

The modifications of the surface topography of amorphous metallic alloys irradiated with swift heavy ions are for the first time studied by near-field microscopy techniques. Irradiations with Pb or U ions (high ( values) lead to the formation of hillocks surrounded by hollows, whereas no visible modifications of the specimen surface is observed after irradiation with Kr ions (low ( value). The formation of hillocks can be ascribed to the damage created in individual ion tracks, while hollows would be linked to the occurrence of the anisotropic-growth phenomenon. Both processes are induced by severe electronic excitation in the wake of incident ions.