Ionoluminescence of fused silica under swift ion irradiation

• Irradiation with He+ ions (lowest stopping power) shows highest luminescence.
• Silica with highest OH content presents the lowest blue luminescence.
• Electronic excitation was the predominant process of energy transfer.
• Surface cracks were observed in Si or O irradiated samples at low fluence.
• Blue IL maximum for O and Si irradiated samples is related to structural changes.

Ion beam induced luminescence spectra have been in-situ recorded during He+ (2.5 MeV), O4+ (13.5 MeV) and Si4+ (24.4 MeV) irradiations for three vitreous silica grades with different OH content (KU1, KS-4V and Infrasil 301). Remarkable changes in the ionoluminescence spectra of the three silica grades were observed for low ion fluences. He+ irradiated samples exhibited higher luminescence than equivalent ones irradiated with heavier O4+ and Si4+ ions. KU1 samples with the highest OH content showed the lowest blue luminescence. Blue luminescence maximum during ion irradiations with O4+ and Si4+ ions is correlated with structural changes.