Swift heavy ion irradiation of pyrochlore oxides: Electronic energy loss threshold for latent track formation

Pyrochlore pellets with the Gd2(Ti2−xZrx)O7 stoichiometry (x = 0, 1 and 2) were irradiated with swift heavy ions in order to investigate the effects of electronic excitation and to determine the electronic stopping power threshold for track formation. XRD results showed that the electronic excitation induced by 870 MeV Xe and 780 MeV Kr ions leads to: (i) a crystalline-amorphous transition for Gd2Ti2O7 and Gd2TiZrO7, (ii) a phase transition towards an anion-deficient fluorite structure (order-disorder transition) for Gd2Zr2O7. Thus, zirconate pyrochlores present a better radiation resistance under swift heavy ion irradiation than titanate pyrochlores. Moreover results underline the existence of an electronic stopping power threshold around 13-14 keV/nm, below which phase transformations do not occur.