Kinetics of ion-beam damage in lithium niobate

The damage kinetics induced by irradiation with a diversity of swift ions (O at 5 MeV; F at 5.1 MeV; Si at 5, 7.5, and 41 MeV; and Cl at 11 and 46 MeV) has been investigated in the range of 10(12)-10(15) at./cm(2). It covers from the initial stage where single damage tracks are isolated and well separated, up to the stage where a full amorphous layer is produced. The damage is characterized by the areal fraction of disorder derived from the Rutherford backscattering/channeling spectra. The data approximately fit an abrupt Avrami-type dependence with fluence. The fluence value at which 50% of the sample surface becomes disordered shows a clear increasing trend with the electronic stopping power of the ion. The trend is consistent with Monte Carlo simulations based on a recent model for defect creation. Moreover, the quantitative agreement for the defect generation rate appears also reasonable.