Etching Tracks of Swift Heavy Ions as a Tool for Creating Elongated Nanopores in Olivine

The shape of nanopores formed by the etching tracks of swift heavy ions in olivine is studied. The developed atomistic model of etching olivine, which is irradiated with swift heavy ions, predicts the possibility of producing nanopores with a noncircular cross section in olivine: the pores are elongated along one of the crystal axes. The shape of the cross section of these pores can be controlled by adjusting the orientation of the crystal relative to the irradiation direction. To verify this prediction, an experiment on the controlled irradiation of olivine with swift heavy ions followed by etching of the samples is performed. The shape of the resulting pores is studied using atomic force microscopy. The results show a qualitative agreement between the experimental and simulation data.