AFM and photoluminescence studies of swift heavy ion induced nanostructured aluminum oxide thin films

E-beam evaporated aluminum oxide films were irradiated with 120 MeV swift {Au^{9+}} ions in order to induced nanostructure formation. Atomic force microscope (AFM)results showed the formation of nanostructures for films irradiated with a fluence of $1 \times 10^{13}$ ions $cm^{-2}$. The particle size estimated by section analysis of the irradiated film was in the range 25–30 nm. Glancing angle X-ray diffraction (GAXRD) revealed the amorphous nature of the films. Two strong Photoluminescence (PL) emission bands with peaks at \sim 430 nm and \sim 645 nm besides a shoulder at \sim 540 nm were observed in all irradiated samples. The PL intensity is found to increase with increase of ion fluence