Nanostructures created in SiO2 surface: A comparison between the impingement by slow highly charged ions and by swift heavy ions

Swift heavy ions (SHI) of MeV-GeV energy lead to the creation of nanometric surface structures as well as modifications in the bulk along the ion penetration depth. Recently, similar surface modifications have been observed for the impact of individual slow highly charged ions (HCI). Non-amorphizable ionic-halide single crystals, like KBr, CaF2 and BaF2, are considered as the most intensively studied materials after irradiation with HCI. In this contribution we study the creation of surface nanostructures in an amorphizable material, namely SiO2 quartz after irradiation with slow highly charged Xe ions from the Electron Beam Ion Trap at Helmholtz Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf and swift xenon ions from Universal Linear Accelerator at GSI in Darmstadt. After irradiation at room temperature, the crystals were investigated by scanning force microscopy. For both SHI and HCI, the created nanostructures exhibit the shape of hillocks. Moreover UV-VIS spectroscopy was performed to identify the defects created by ion irradiation at high fluence. The results are discussed in terms of the creation mechanisms driven by the dependence on both potential and kinetic energies of the ions. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.