50 MeV Li³⁺ Irradiation Effects on Structural, Optical and Surface Properties of L-Alanine Single Crystals

Single crystals of L-alanine were subjected to 50 MeV Li³⁺ ion irradiation at various ion fluences. Radiation induced surface amorphization beyond the projected range of the incident ions has been studied using X-ray diffractometry. The appearance of permanent plastic deformation formed on the surface of the crystal in the form of ridges and the metrology of the craters and hillocks formed have been extensively investigated using atomic force microscopy. The changes in the vibrational structure of the irradiated single crystals have been studied qualitatively using microraman spectroscopy. The variation in the optical absorption as well as the band gap energy of the ion irradiated L-alanine samples was also assessed. Kurtz-Perry test revealed that the higher dose of ion irradiation considerably affects the Powder second harmonic generation (SHG) efficiency of L-alanine crystals.