Electron excitation relaxation in wide-gap single crystal insulators under swift heavy-ion irradiation

A heavy, multicharged ion moving in a solid interacts with nuclei and electrons of the matter atoms. If the projectile velocity exceeds the typical orbital velocity of the target electrons, the main process is excitation of the electronic subsystem, i.e., excitation and ionization of bound electrons. Initially, relaxation of the electron excitations results from electronic processes alone, and energy transfer from electrons to lattice happens later. Since free charge carriers are absent in insulators before irradiation, the motion of the excited electrons is possible only together with holes. Due to inner pressure of the electron-hole plasma the expansion takes place. The velocity of the expansion is determined by the heat velocity of electron-hole pairs, As the excitation region expands, the density of the electron-hole pairs decreases, the average distance between pairs increases, and excitons are produced. The expansion can be terminated in the time t similar or equal to 10(-13) s, when, due to the electron-phonon interaction, self-trapped holes (and excitons) are formed. The annihilation of the trapped excitons gives rise to Frenkel defects. The set of equations comprising the continuity equation, the Euler equation and energy conservation is considered. The analytic dependence on time of the electron temperature and the radius of the excitation region is derived. The observation of projectile traces in a target is discussed in the single projectile regime. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.