Influence of silicon ion implantation on the morphological features, structural properties, optical, and electrical behavior of CR-39 polymers

doi:10.1088/1674-1056/ae39db

Abstract The variations in morphological features, structural properties, optical characteristics, and electrical behavior induced by 610-keV Si ions in the CR-39 matrix have been investigated in the current research work. Polymer targets were irradiated with Si ions for various fluences spanning from $5\times 10^{13}$ ions/cm$^{2}$ to $35 \times 10^{16}$ ions/cm$^{2}$. The implantation of ions in the polymeric target generally leads to chain scission, bond breaking, and cross-linking, along with the formation of free radicals and ions. To confirm these effects, various characterization techniques have been utilized. Optical microscopy reveals the creation of micro-cavities and cracks along the grain boundaries. Confocal microscopy demonstrates the formation of micro-sized hillocks. The formation of SiC phase at 890 cm$^{-1}$ following ion implantation was identified by Raman spectroscopy. Furthermore, in CR-39, a significant reduction in optical transmittance in the visible region is attributable to the formation of Si and carbonaceous clusters on the target surface. The enhancement in the electrical conductivity of the Si ion implanted polymer with an increase in ion fluence is attributable to fine crystallinity and the development of SiC bridges. The assessed temperature of the surface of the implanted polymer ranges from $2.2 \times 10^{4}$ K to $6.2 \times 10^{4}$ K. The LET (total linear energy transfer) value of 610-keV implanted ions and their depth are 63 eV/Å and 1.11 μm recorded in CR-39, respectively, estimated by SRIM simulation. The improved morphological features, structural properties, optical characteristics, and electrical behavior of CR-39 make it beneficial for applications in packaging and electronic industries, medical sciences, and photonic devices.

Keywords: surface morphology carbonaceous clusters optical transmittance structural modification

Received: 30 April 2025
Revised: 05 January 2026
Accepted manuscript online: 19 January 2026

PACS:	07.60.Pb	(Conventional optical microscopes)
	07.79.Lh	(Atomic force microscopes)
	07.60.Rd	(Visible and ultraviolet spectrometers)
	06.60.Ei	(Sample preparation)

Corresponding Authors: Umm-i-Kalsoom
E-mail: ummikalsoom@uet.edu.pk

Cite this article:

Bashir S, Ahmad S, Ali N, Umm-i-Kalsoom, Rafique M S, and Husinsky W Influence of silicon ion implantation on the morphological features, structural properties, optical, and electrical behavior of CR-39 polymers 2026 Chin. Phys. B 35 070707

[1] Rai V N, Singh J P, Yueh F Y and Cook R L 2003 Laser Part. Beams 21 65
[2] Harilal S S, Tillack M S, O’Shay B, Bindhu C V and Najmabadi F 2004 Phys. Rev. E 69 026413
[3] Torrisi L, Margarone D, Gammino S and Ando L 2008 Radiat. Eff. Defects Solids 163 261
[4] Dirnberger L, Dyer P E, Farrar S R and Key P H 1993 AIP Conf. Proc. 288 349
[5] Khwairakpam O S, et al. 2024 Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. B 548 165249
[6] Wen Z, Xu Z, Wang C, Zhang Q, Si M, Song X, Dou Y, Li B and Lin J 2024 Vacuum 224 113145
[7] Khan M R, Haq S U, Abbas Q and Nadeem A 2023 Spectrochim. Acta B 200 106612
[8] Springham S V, Lee S and Rafique M S 2000 Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion 42 1023
[9] Sharma T, Aggarwal S, Sharma A and Kumar S 2007 J. Appl. Phys. 102 063527
[10] Othman S M, El-Mansy I A, El-Badawy A S and Ghanim E H 2024 Appl. Radiat. Isot. 208 111253
[11] Sadeq M S, Hassan N M, El-Saftawy A A and Sedqy E M 2024 Radiat. Phys. Chem. 218 111537
[12] Pauleau Y 1989 Materials and Processes for Surface and Interface Engineering (London: Springer)
[13] Teixeira F S, Salvadori M C, Cattani M and Brown I G 2009 J. Appl. Phys. 105 064313
[14] Bouffard S, Balanzat E, Leroy C, Busnel J P and Guevelou G 1997 Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. B 131 79
[15] Zhang S, Liu Y, Lv S and Cheng J 2023 Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. B 543 165097
[16] Sadeq M S, Hassan N M, El-Saftawy A A and Sedqy E M 2024 Radiat. Phys. Chem. 218 111537
[17] Badry B A E, Zaki M F, Abdul-Kader A M, Hegazy T M and Morsy A A 2009 Vacuum 83 1138
[18] Resta V, et al. 2013 Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. B 312 42
[19] Bashir S A, Ali S, Kalsoom U I, Rafique M S and Alshehri A M 2024 Heliyon 10 e34553
[20] Wante H P Y, et al. 2025 Eur. Phys. J. Plus 140 837
[21] Liu Y, Li S S and Cheng J P 2024 Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. B 556 165432
[22] Azevedo A M, Monteiro S N and Veiga-Junior V F 2025 Polymers 17 1110
[23] Szenes G 1995 Phys. Rev. B 51 8026
[24] Ziegler J F 2013 SRIM
[25] Bykovskii Y A, Degtyarenko N N, Kondrashov V E and Lovetskii E E 1974 Phys. Tech. Phys. 18 1597
[26] Rafique M S, Rahman M K, Rehman A, Siraj K and Khan M F 2007 Laser Phys. 17 282
[27] Fink D 2004 Fundamentals of Ion Irradiated Polymers (Berlin: Springer)
[28] Nouh S A, Salam M H A and Morsy A A 2003 Radiat. Meas. 37 25
[29] Zeng Y, Tang J, Zhu J, Shen X and Ling Y 2025 J. Mater. Res. Technol. 38 3218
[30] Sun X, Zhang Y, Wang L, Li R and Wang J 2023 Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. B 541 123
[31] Kumar T R, Murty R M, Suresh A S and Panigrahi B B 2024 J. Alloys Compd. 951 170018
[32] Wise D L, et al. 1998 Electrical and Optical Polymer Systems (New York)
[33] Lucchese R R 1987 J. Chem. Phys. 86 443
[34] Mio A M, et al. 2011 J. Non-Cryst. Solids 357 2197
[35] Ahmad S, et al. 2014 Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. B 325 5
[36] Adhikari A R, et al. 2014 J. Surf. Eng. Mater. Adv. Technol. 4 326
[37] Wang T S, et al. 2009 Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. B 267 2605
[38] Koubassov V, et al. 2004 Appl. Phys. A 79 499
[39] Sattler K D (ed.) 2010 Handbook of Nanophysics (Boca Raton: CRC Press)
[40] Abbaschian R, Abbaschian L and Hill R E R 1994 Physical Metallurgy Principles
[41] Costantini J M, et al. 2005 Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. B 234 458
[42] Mallick B, et al. 2008 Radiat. Eff. Defects Solids 163 161
[43] Yamauchi T, et al. 2001 Radiat. Meas. 34 69
[44] Socrates G 2004 Infrared and Raman Characteristic Group Frequencies
[45] Fink D, et al. 1996 Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. B 111 303
[46] Kondyurin A and Bilek M 2008 Ion Beam Treatment of Polymers (Elsevier)
[47] Davenas J, et al. 1988 Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. B 32 136
[48] Stepanov A L and Khaibullin R I 2004 Rev. Adv. Mater. Sci. 7 108
[49] Shekhawat N, et al. 2011 J. Appl. Phys. 109 083513
[50] Yamauchi T, Taniguchi T and Oda K 1999 Radiat. Meas. 31 261
[51] Forrest S R, et al. 1982 Appl. Phys. Lett. 41 708
[52] Nathawat R, et al. 2008 Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. B 266 4749
[53] Wan C L, et al. 2006 Phys. Rev. B 74 144109
[54] Ziaie F, et al. 2007 Radiat. Phys. Chem. 76 1684
[55] Shi X and Chen L 2004 Appl. Phys. Lett. 84 2301
[56] Chae S, Kim Y S and Rafique M S 2016 Optik 127 9152
[57] Stoller R E, et al. 2013 Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. B 310 75
[58] Netta C B, et al. 2025 Radiat. Phys. Chem. 226 112275

[1]	Step-edge-guided nucleation and growth mode transition of α-Ga₂O₃ heteroepitaxy on vicinal sapphire Jinggang Hao(郝景刚), Yanfang Zhang(张彦芳), Yijun Zhang(张贻俊), Ke Xu(徐科), Genquan Han(韩根全), and Jiandong Ye(叶建东). Chin. Phys. B, 2024, 33(8): 086104.
[2]	Surface structure modification of ReSe₂ nanosheets via carbon ion irradiation Mei Qiao(乔梅), Tie-Jun Wang(王铁军), Yong Liu(刘泳), Tao Liu(刘涛), Shan Liu(刘珊), and Shi-Cai Xu(许士才). Chin. Phys. B, 2023, 32(2): 026101.
[3]	Influence of N⁺ implantation on structure, morphology, and corrosion behavior of Al in NaCl solution Hadi Savaloni, Rezvan Karami, Helma Sadat Bahari, Fateme Abdi. Chin. Phys. B, 2020, 29(5): 058102.
[4]	Low-temperature plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition of large area HfS₂ nanocrystal thin films Ailing Chang(常爱玲), Yichen Mao(毛亦琛), Zhiwei Huang(黄志伟), Haiyang Hong(洪海洋), Jianfang Xu(徐剑芳), Wei Huang(黄巍), Songyan Chen(陈松岩), Cheng Li(李成). Chin. Phys. B, 2020, 29(3): 038102.
[5]	A transparent electromagnetic-shielding film based on one-dimensional metal-dielectric periodic structures Ya-li Zhao(赵亚丽), Fu-hua Ma(马富花), Xu-feng Li(李旭峰), Jiang-jiang Ma(马江将), Kun Jia(贾琨), Xue-hong Wei(魏学红). Chin. Phys. B, 2018, 27(2): 027302.
[6]	Analysis of the induction of the myelin basic protein binding to the plasma membrane phospholipid monolayer Lei Zhang(张蕾), Changchun Hao(郝长春), Ying Feng(冯盈), Feng Gao(高峰), Xiaolong Lu(逯晓龙), Junhua Li(李俊花), Runguang Sun(孙润广). Chin. Phys. B, 2016, 25(9): 090507.
[7]	Effect of fluence and ambient environment on the surface and structural modification of femtosecond laser irradiated Ti Umm-i-Kalsoom, Shazia Bashir, Nisar Ali, M Shahid Rafique, Wolfgang Husinsky, Chandra S R Nathala, Sergey V Makarov, Narjis Begum. Chin. Phys. B, 2016, 25(1): 018101.
[8]	Effects of annealing temperature on shape transformation and optical properties of germanium quantum dots Alireza Samavati, Z. Othaman, S. K. Ghoshal, M. K. Mustafa. Chin. Phys. B, 2015, 24(2): 028103.
[9]	Electrical and optical properties of indium tin oxide/epoxy composite film Guo Xia (郭霞), Guo Chun-Wei (郭春威), Chen Yu (陈宇), Su Zhi-Ping (苏治平). Chin. Phys. B, 2014, 23(7): 076403.
[10]	Effect of additional silicon on titanium/4H-SiC contacts properties Zhang Yong-Ping (张永平), Chen Zhi-Zhan (陈之战), Lu Wu-Yue (卢吴越), Tan Jia-Hui (谈嘉慧), Cheng Yue (程越), Shi Wang-Zhou (石旺舟). Chin. Phys. B, 2014, 23(5): 057303.
[11]	Formation of ZnGa₂O₄ films by multilayer deposition and subsequent thermal annealing Yan Jin-Liang (闫金良), Zhao Yin-Nü (赵银女), Li Chao (李超). Chin. Phys. B, 2014, 23(4): 048105.
[12]	Microstructure and its influence on CH₄ adsorption behavior of deep coal Feng Yan-Yan (冯艳艳), Jiang Cheng-Fa (江成发), Liu Dai-Jun (刘代俊), Chu Wei (储伟). Chin. Phys. B, 2014, 23(2): 028201.
[13]	Germanium nanoislands grown by radio frequency magnetron sputtering：Annealing time dependent surface morphology and photoluminescence Alireza Samavati, Z. Othaman, S. K. Ghoshal, R. J. Amjad. Chin. Phys. B, 2013, 22(9): 098102.
[14]	Effect of In_xGa_1-xN “continuously graded” buffer layer on InGaN epilayer grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition Qian Wei-Ning (钱卫宁), Su Shi-Chen (宿世臣), Chen Hong (陈弘), Ma Zi-Guang (马紫光), Zhu Ke-Bao (朱克宝), He Miao (何苗), Lu Ping-Yuan (卢平元), Wang Geng (王耿), Lu Tai-Ping (卢太平), Du Chun-Hua (杜春花), Wang Qiao (王巧), Wu Wen-Bo (吴汶波), Zhang Wei-Wei (张伟伟). Chin. Phys. B, 2013, 22(10): 106106.
[15]	Thickness dependence of grain size and surface roughness for dc magnetron sputtered Au films Zhang Xin(张鑫), Song Xiao-Hui(宋小会), and Zhang Dian-Lin(张殿琳). Chin. Phys. B, 2010, 19(8): 086802.

No Suggested Reading articles found!

Viewed

Full text

Abstract

Cited

Metrics
Related Articles

Influence of silicon ion implantation on the morphological features, structural properties, optical, and electrical behavior of CR-39 polymers

Cite this article:

Online attention