Solid phase epitaxial growth of ion beam-amorphized α-quartz has been studied by means of Rutherford backscattering spectrometry in channeling geometry. α-quartz single crystals were irradiated with Cs+ and Xe+ ions and annealed in air or in vacuum at 500–900 °C. Complete epitaxial regrowth has been observed in the Cs-irradiated samples, after 875 °C annealing in air. On the other hand, vacuum annealing provided only incomplete regrowth of the amorphous layer, while Xe-irradiated α-quartz could not be regrown up to 900 °C. The behavior of Cs in the recrystallization process is discussed in terms of the SiO2-network topology.
In this article, our results on the epitaxial crystallization of ion-bombarded crystalline silicon dioxide ͑␣ quartz͒ are reviewed. The epitaxial recrystallization of amorphized layers was achieved after alkali irradiation and annealing in air in the temperature range 650-875°C. The systematic behavior of alkali ions in enhancing the regrowth rate both with decreasing ion size and increasing concentration is shown. The role of oxygen in the recrystallization was investigated by means of nuclear reaction analysis, by performing thermal treatments of the samples in 18 O. A large amount of 18 O diffuses inside the amorphous layer in the alkali-ion implanted samples at 600-800°C. From the strong correlation between the migration of 18 O and implanted alkali, it was possible to gain further insights into the recrystallization mechanism.
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