A study was made of the effect of weak permanent magnetic fields, applied during the ion implantation of these materials at 300K, upon post-implantation damage. It was found that the presence of 1000Oe permanent magnetic fields during ion implantation could appreciably increase the post-implantation damage in these oxides when the ion energies were between 200 and 400keV and the dose was between 1011 and 1012/cm3 at room temperature. The permanent magnetic field-induced increase in the irradiation damage caused a corresponding increase in the resistivity, and a reduction in the critical current. The effect of the magnetic field upon defect migration and radiation damage was explained in terms of the kinetic electron-related theory of atomic rate processes in solids. This theory linked magnetic-field effects to electron transitions which occurred in the nm vicinity of atoms overcoming energy barriers and exponentially affected the rates of atomic diffusion. The magnetic field could enhance the number of downward electron transitions that accompanied atomic jumps over energy barriers, and synchronized with the jumps. This greatly enhanced the rates of defect migration out of thermal spikes that prevented the defects from recombining quickly.

Y.L.Khait: Zeitschrift für Physik B, 1996, 101[1], 47-55