Monte Carlo simulations of backscattering process in dislocation-containing SrTiO3 single crystal

Studies of defects formation in crystals are of obvious importance in electronics, nuclear engineering and other disciplines where materials are exposed to different forms of irradiation. Rutherford Backscattering/Channeling (RBS/C) and Monte Carlo (MC) simulations are the most convenient tool for this purpose, as they allow one to determine several features of lattice defects: their type, concentration and damage accumulation kinetic. On the other hand various irradiation conditions can be efficiently modeled by ion irradiation method without leading to the radioactivity of the sample. Combination of ion irradiation with channeling experiment and MC simulations appears thus as a most versatile method in studies of radiation damage in materials.The paper presents the results on such a study performed on SrTiO3 (STO) single crystals irradiated with 320 keV Ar ions. The samples were analyzed also by using HRTEM as a complementary method which enables the measurement of geometrical parameters of crystal lattice deformation in the vicinity of dislocations. Once the parameters and their variations within the distance of several lattice constants from the dislocation core are known, they may be used in MC simulations for the quantitative determination of dislocation depth distribution profiles. The final outcome of the deconvolution procedure are cross-sections values calculated for two types of defects observed (RDA and dislocations).