Changes in the Structure and Properties of Quartz Successively Implanted by Zn and F Ions during Thermal Annealing

Abstract

The temperature dependences of structural and phase transformations in quartz successively implanted by zinc and fluorine during annealing in nitrogen have been studied. Plates were doped with ⁶⁴Zn⁺ ions to a dose of 5 × 10¹⁶ cm^–2 with an energy of 50 keV and then with ¹⁹F⁺ ions to the same dose but with an energy of 17 keV. After the implantation, individual Zn-containing particles about 100 nm in size were found on the sample surface. These particles decrease in size during annealing (by an order of magnitude after annealing at 800°C). The implantation leads to the formation of radiation-induced point defects and their clusters in the quartz bulk. Radiation-induced defects are gradually annealed during the heat treatment, and the phase of metallic zinc is transformed first to its zinc oxide (ZnO) at 600°C and then to willemite (Zn₂SiO₄) at 800°C.