Ion-beam-induced densification of zirconia sol-gel thin films

Densification of sol-gel zirconia films was achieved using ion implantation instead of conventional heat treatment. Densification was observed with Xe+-ion doses as low as 1014 ions/cm2. Ion implantation resulted in hydrogen and carbon losses as measured by forward recoil elastic spectrometry (FRES) and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) using 12C(α,α)12C resonance, respectively. The density and chemical composition of the highest-dose implanted sol-gel films were comparable with those obtained by high-temperature sintering. The chemical and microstructural modifications in the films were attributed to both electronic interactions and nuclear collisions between the Xe+ ions and the target atoms