Mechanism of the monoclinic-to-tetragonal phase transition induced in zirconia and hafnia by swift heavy ions

Recent results demonstrated that defect formation or amorphization are not the only structural changes induced by swift heavy ions in crystalline materials and that under certain circumstances crystalline-to-crystalline phase transitions can also occur. For instance, it was found that both zirconia and hafnia transform from the monoclinic to the tetragonal phase with a kinetics involving a double ion impact process. In order to understand the origin of this ion-beam induced phase transition, the behavior of these twin oxides was analyzed and compared. In fact, the likeness of these materials offered the unique opportunity to impose drastic constraints on the possible models proposed to explain the creation of atomic displacements in the wake of swift heavy ions. This comparison clearly suggests that the thermal spike is the most appropriate process which governs the transition from the monoclinic to the tetragonal phase in zirconia and hafnia.