Effects of X-ray irradiation on optical property and defect relaxation in MeV ion-implanted MgO

Thermal annealing is usually used to restore defects in an ion-implanted layer as a posttreatment. This research proposes an X-ray irradiation method to restore defects, as well as thermal annealing. The advantages of this method are that low-melting temperature materials can be processed and that fine patterning can be achieved. To validate this method, MgO single crystal (100) was implanted with 3.1 MeV Au ions at a dose of 2×1016 cm−2 and then irradiated with X-rays. The results showed that the X-ray irradiation affected the optical absorption spectrum, the restoration of the defects, and the diffusion of the implanted atoms, which means that the effect of the X-ray irradiation is similar to thermal annealing.