Damage evolution in Au-implanted Ho2Ti2O7 titanate pyrochlore

Damage evolution at room temperature in Ho2Ti2O7 single crystals is studied under 1 MeV Au2+ ion irradiation by Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy along the 〈0 0 1〉 direction. For a better determination of ion-induced disorder profile, an iterative procedure and a Monte Carlo code (McChasy) were used to analyze ion channeling spectra. A disorder accumulation model, with contributions from the amorphous fraction and the crystalline disorder, is fit to the Ho damage accumulation data. The damage evolution behavior indicates that the relative disorder on the Ho sublattice follows a nonlinear dependence on dose and that defect-stimulated amorphization is the primary amorphization mechanism. Similar irradiation behavior previously was observed in Sm2Ti2O7. A slower damage accumulation rate for Ho2Ti2O7, as compared with damage evolution in Sm2Ti2O7, is mainly attributed to a lower effective cross section for defect-stimulated amorphization.