Atomistic Mechanisms of Temperature-Dependent Ion Track Formation in Gallium Nitride under Swift Heavy Ion Irradiation

Abstract

The radiation tolerance of gallium nitride under extreme conditions is critical for its deployment in next-generation electronic and optoelectronic devices, yet the microscopic mechanisms governing swift heavy ion induced damage at elevated temperatures remain poorly understood. Therefore, this study employs a coupled approach including the two-temperature model and molecular dynamics simulations to resolve the entire processes of ion track generation induced by swift heavy ions irradiation across a wide temperature range. A temperature-driven morphological transition of ion tracks, evolving from discontinuous segments to continuous tracks composed of isolated nanobubbles, and ultimately to fully continuous channels is observed. Under lower electronic stopping loss of 430 MeV Kr irradiation, increasing temperature significantly enhances track visibility, enlarges track radii and promotes nanobubble formation. For higher electronic stopping conditions of 1171 MeV Ta irradiation, continuous ion tracks consisting of discontinuous nanobubbles (~1.5 nm radius) emerge already at 300 K, followed by a thermally activated transition into continuous channels with further radial expansion. At the atomic scale, SHI irradiation induces decomposition of wurtzite GaN into Ga clusters and N2 molecules along the ion trajectory, with Ga-rich regions and recrystallized wurtzite phases accumulating near bubble interfaces, while N2 preferentially segregates within bubble cores. Additionally, zincblende nanodomains nucleate around ion tracks and exhibit strong spatial correlation with radiation-induced dislocation networks, particularly screw dislocations, providing potential pathways for leakage current and increased susceptibility to single-event burnout.