A Thermal Spike Model of the Amorphization of Insulators by High-Energy Heavy-Ion Irradiation

A model based on the assumption of a Gaussian temperature distribution in the thermal spike well accounts for the basic features of latent track formation. In good agreement with the observations it predicts a logarithmic variation of the track size for 2.7≥Se/Set≥1 and a linear variation for Se/Set≥2.7, where Se is the electronic stopping power and Set is a threshold value. The model also provides a quantitative relation between Set and the thermal properties of the target. A weak temperature dependence of track formation is predicted in agreement with the experiments.