Peculiarities of latent track etching in SiO2/Si structures irradiated with Ar, Kr and Xe ions

The process of latent track etching in SiO2/Si structures irradiated with 40Ar (38 MeV), 84Kr (59 MeV) and 132Xe (133 and 200 MeV) ions has been investigated. The experimental results of SiO2 etching in a hydrofluoric acid solution have been compared with the results of computer simulation based on the thermal spike model. It has been confirmed that the formation of a molten region along the swift ion trajectory with minimum radius of 3 nm can serve as a theoretical criterion for the reproducible latent track etching tracks in SiO2.