SAXS and TEM investigation of ion tracks in neodymium-doped yttrium aluminium garnet

Neodymium-doped yttrium aluminium garnet (Nd:Y3Al5O12 or Nd:YAG) crystals were irradiated with 2.2 GeV 197Au ions. Ion track formation was investigated using synchrotron based small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Cylindrical ion tracks consisted of an amorphous core with sharp boundaries within the crystalline matrix. The SAXS results, modelled as long cylindrical tracks, provided a constant track density that is 0.6 ± 0.3% different to that of the surrounding matrix. The average track radii determined by both techniques were in excellent agreement, 4.4 ± 0.1 nm from SAXS and 4.4 ± 0.5 nm from TEM. A comparison with previous results of ion tracks in YAG indicates that the track radius is not affected by the presence of 1 mol% Nd dopant.