Damage accumulation in MgO irradiated with MeV Au ions at elevated temperatures

The damage accumulation process in MgO single crystals under medium-energy heavy ion irradiation (1.2 MeV Au) at fluences up to 4 × 1014 cm−2 has been studied at three different temperatures: 573, 773, and 1073 K. Disorder depth profiles have been determined through the use of the Rutherford backscattering spectrometry in channeling configuration (RBS/C). The analysis of the RBS/C data reveals two steps in the MgO damage process, irrespective of the temperature. However, we find that for increasing irradiation temperature, the damage level decreases and the fluence at which the second step takes place increases. A shift of the damage peak at increasing fluence is observed for the three temperatures, although the position of the peak depends on the temperature. These results can be explained by an enhanced defect mobility which facilitates defect migration and may favor defect annealing. X-ray diffraction reciprocal space maps confirm the results obtained with the RBS/C technique.