High energy heavy ion induced structural disorder in Li2TiO3

Li2TiO3 ceramics have been irradiated with xenon (Xe) ions in the energy range of 18–160 MeV at ambient temperature. The effect of ion irradiation on the order in the atomic arrangement of Li2TiO3 crystal was examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy. The results show that the atomic arrangement in Li2TiO3 is strongly disordered by the high energy Xe ion irradiation. The destruction of long-range order due to the irradiation was confirmed from the reductions in XRD intensities of the (0 0 2) supercell reflection. The destruction of short-range order was confirmed from the reductions in the Raman intensities and disappearances of Raman bands with fluence. The disordering is more efficient with the increase in the electronic stopping power than with fluence or accumulated electronic energy deposition. These disorders due to the irradiation are discussed in relation to irradiation parameters such as electronic stopping power, accumulated electronic energy deposition and fluence.