Synergistic effects assessment between nuclear damage and electronic energy dissipation in LiTaO3 under heavy ion irradiation using optical waveguides properties and the irradiation angle of incidence

High energy heavy ion irradiation has been performed in LiTaO3 in a broad set of experimental conditions to study the synergistic effects in the damage generation between the nuclear and the electronic energy loss mechanisms. Optical waveguides have been fabricated in LiTaO3, using 20-25 MeV F and 40 MeV Si ions, and their refractive index profiles were used as a very accurate method for the in-depth damage profile determination and its correlation with the energy loss curves. In-situ optical reflectance of low energy irradiations (500 keV F and 300 keV Si ions) has been performed to estimate the nuclear damage kinetics of the buried regions of the high energy irradiations that are not optically accessible with the optical waveguide characterization in the fluence regime when the electronic damage is intense. The angle of incidence has been varied to enhance the damage and further ascertain the existence of a synergistic mechanism.