Structural properties of rutile TiO2 bombarded with Er ions

Rutile TiO2 single crystals were implanted with keV Er ions at 600 °C. Thermal annealing was performed at selected temperatures ranging from 800 °C to 1000 °C. The effects of annealing temperatures on structural properties were systematically investigated by employing Rutherford backscattering/channeling spectrometry and X-ray diffraction techniques. The results show that all the samples retain good crystallinity in implanted regions and much Er diffuses inside the bulk substrate during the annealing process. The diffraction results imply an enhanced degree of crystallinity and reveal evidence for the presence of a new phase in annealed samples.