[en] Short communication

[en] Short communication

[en] The research on energy relaxation and track creation processes with GeV heavy ions is closely related with the description of the ion track morphology and with the measurements of track diameters. Track diameters have been systematically measured in mica, indirectly by X-ray and neutron small angle scattering and by wide-angle X-ray diffraction, or directly by atomic force microscopy imaging. Our X-ray diffraction measurements are interpreted through three effects: the loss of long-range order (creation of amorphous tracks, the diameter of which is deduced and compared with the results of the other methods), the dilatation of the residual crystal along [001], and the crystal to paracrystal transition. (orig.)

[en] The descriptions of high-energy ion irradiation damage in mica by small-angle X- ray/neutron scattering and electron microscopy are used to support some models of track formation in dielectric solids. More recently heavy ion tracks in mica could be observed by atomic force microscopy and the dependence of the track radius on the particle energy loss is in contradiction with previous results. This discrepancy as well as the structural modifications (i.e. amorphization, dilatation, distortions) of ion-irradiated mica are discussed using the technique of wide-angle X-ray diffraction. ((orig.))

[en] The effects of swift heavy ions in bulk solid targets have been extensively studied. Some effects are specifically related with the large densities of energy absorbed by the target electron gas in the projectile wake. One remarkable effect observed in the present work is the crystalline solid state phase transition of Y₂O₃ as a result of ionizing irradiation by GeV heavy ions. Our X-ray diffraction measurements give the first evidence of the cubic to monoclinic transformation of Y₂O₃ under high energy heavy ion irradiation. (orig.)