Surface of ferroelectric crystals after ionic irradiation

Studied have been the surfaces of the BaTiO3 crystals, exposed to argon ions in the not less than 10-7 tor vacuum, where the beam energy reached 3 keV. The irradiation dose was 1014-1016 ion/cm2. Various types of micropatterns were characterized. It is shown that the ionic pickling has a greater selectivity and better opportunities for the parameter variations, as compared with the chemical pickling. Pattern revealing by the ionic bombardment is more effective and the microstructure details have a better spatial resolution. The revealed defects have a noticeable effect on the ferroelectric properties of the researched crystals