Analysis of TiO₂ and Ti Nanolayers Irradiated With Highly Charged Xeq+ Ions Using Synchrotron Radiation Based GIXRF Method

Understanding the physical and chemical properties of nanolayers is crucial for developing new and advanced nanomaterials. Irradiation with low‐energy, highly charged ions allows the modification of materials, creating novel surface structure features. The nanolayers can be characterized using surface‐sensitive techniques such as X‐ray reflectometry or grazing incidence X‐ray fluorescence (GIXRF). GIXRF is a non‐destructive spectroscopy method for analyzing elemental depth distributions in thin layer structures. The aim of this work was to analyze titanium (Ti) and titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) nanolayers deposited on Si substrate, unmodified and irradiated with low‐energy (100 of keV) highly charged Xe q+ ( q = 25, 30, 35), and to determine the influence of this process on the morphology of irradiated surfaces. The nanolayers were irradiated at the Kielce EBIS facility. The GIXRF measurements were performed at Elettra Synchrotron XRF beamline. The results obtained from the GIXRF method show that the intensity changes of analyzed fluorescence lines depend on the thickness of nanolayers and the ion charge states.