Structural disorder produced in KH2PO4 by light-ion bombardment

We study structural disorder produced in tetragonal KH2PO4 (KDP) single crystals at room temperature by irradiation with MeV light ions. Results show that electronic energy loss plays a major role in the production of lattice defects in KDP. The effective diameters of ion tracks depend superlinearly on the electronic stopping power of energetic light ions. Structural lattice disorder is also accompanied by the formation of a network of cracks and blisters on the sample surface. Such irradiation-induced cracking and blistering typically evolve over extended periods of time (e.g., days) after bombardment and are strongly affected by ion irradiation and sample storage conditions. (C) 2004 American Institute of Physics.