Ion beams, surface properties and material analysis

Ion beams now find applications n the domain of materials. Two applications are described here: modification of some surface properties and analysis. By ion beam bombardment, the crystalline structure of the target can be modified, leading to amorphization, recrystallization, new phase formation or more simply a very strong increase of deposited thin film adhesion. Nuclear microprobes are now extensively used in material science studies and particularly in analysis of trace elements. A focused beam of MeV light ions is scanned across a sample surface. Different types of interaction can occur, each one forms the basis of an analytical technique (image trace element distributions, concentration, depth structure...). An example is given deuterium surface and depth profile distributions measured in thin layers of titanium hybrids. (authors). 4 refs., 14 figs