AFM and photoluminescence studies of swift heavy ion induced nanostructured aluminum oxide thin films

E-beam evaporated aluminum oxide films were irradiated with 120 MeV swift Au9+ ions in order to induced nanostructure formation. Atomic force microscope (AFM) results showed the formation of nanostructures for films irradiated with a fluence of 1 × 1013 ions cm−2. The particle size estimated by section analysis of the irradiated film was in the range 25–30 nm. Glancing angle X-ray diffraction (GAXRD) revealed the amorphous nature of the films. Two strong Photoluminescence (PL) emission bands with peaks at ∼430 nm and ∼645 nm besides a shoulder at ∼540 nm were observed in all irradiated samples. The PL intensity is found to increase with increase of ion fluence.