Material Transformation: Interaction between Nuclear and Electronic Energy Losses

The interaction between nuclear and electronic energy losses induced by an individual ion are described and illustrated by four different experiments. Each experiment shows the different behaviors of the combined interactions. Defects created by nuclear energy loss are annealed by electronic energy loss in Fe by ions in the GeV energy regime, showing a competitive interaction (1+1<1). The sputtering of Ti is enhanced by electronic excitation induced by ∼100 MeV ions supporting a synergetic interaction (1+1>2). Damage cross section in crystalline and amorphous SiO2 is enhanced by ions in the MeV regime, evidencing a cooperative interaction (1+1>1 and <2). Moreover Molecular Dynamic calculations show that defects created by nuclear and electronic collisions appear to be additive (1+1 =2) in this same range of beam energy.