Preventing Firing-Induced Curvature of Thin Oxide Pellets - for Ion Irradiation Experiments

Abstract

To investigate radiation damage in bulk II-VI oxides with electronic and optical applications, 50 to 55 MeV Li ion beam from the Pelletron at IUAC, New Delhi, is suitable, and has been available. Maximum sample thickness that prevents undesirable ion implantation turns out, from TRIM calculation, to be ~ 200 µm for CdO & ZnO, and 400 to 450 µm for MgO. The need and difficulty of making such ultrathin ceramic samples (as desirable for radiation damage without implantation) are addressed first. Films, easily fulfilling the low thickness requirement, have properties different from the bulk, and are usually on a substrate to complicate the matter. Ultrathin un-fired pellets, in contrast to thick and sturdy pellets, become curved on conventional sintering. Curved pellets are useless for ion irradiation and most other experiments. Qualitative understanding of the curving, its prevention and test of these newly made ultrathin but flat ceramics for swift ion irradiation have been undertaken in this work.