XRD and AFM study of radiation damage induced by swift heavy ions in Y3Al5O12 single crystals

Defects induced in Y₃Al₅O₁₂ single crystals by swift heavy ions are investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscopy. The irradiation was performed at GANIL with 561 MeV ⁵¹Cr, 466 MeV ¹²⁸Te, and 957 MeV ²⁰⁸Pb ions. The XRD data reveal that the lattice strain increases with increasing electronic stopping power, whereas the hillock parameters (height and diameter) are not influenced by the electronic stopping power. According to our experimental data, for the same mean electronic stopping power, the hillock parameters are more pronounced for the lower range in contrast to swelling measurements. The experimental data show a strong increase in the hillock parameter at higher fluence, indicating the amorphization of Y₃Al₅O₁₂ single crystals.