Raman characterization of phonon confinement and strain effects from latent ion tracks in α‐quartz

Abstract

This study reports phonon confinement and strain effects in the Raman spectrum of ion-irradiated and subsequently etched α-quartz. Y-and Z-cut α-quartz single crystals were irradiated at room temperature with 20-MeV Ni 6+ and 40-MeV I 7+ ions. Latent ion tracks were produced with areal densities ranging from the isolated track regime to the overlapping track regime (nominal fluences of 1 Â 10 9 , 1 Â 10 10 , and 1 Â 10 11 ions cm À2 ). Nanowell structures were revealed after vapor etching with hydrofluoric acid (HF) aqueous solutions. A phonon confinement model was invoked to explain the observed changes in the shape of the strong Raman peak located around 463 cm À1 .