Real time x-ray studies during nanostructure formation on silicon via low energy ion beam irradiation using ultrathin iron films
- School of Materials Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907 (United States)
- School of Nuclear Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, 47907 (United States)
- Physics Department, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215 (United States)
Real time grazing incidence small angle x-ray scattering and x-ray fluorescence (XRF) are used to elucidate nanodot formation on silicon surfaces during low energy ion beam irradiation of ultrathin iron-coated silicon substrates. Four surface modification stages were identified: (1) surface roughening due to film erosion, (2) surface smoothing and silicon-iron mixing, (3) structure formation, and (4) structure smoothing. The results conclude that 2.5 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 15} iron atoms in a 50 nm depth triggers surface nanopatterning with a correlated nanodots distance of 25 nm. Moreover, there is a wide window in time where the surface can have correlated nanostructures even after the removal of all the iron atoms from the sample as confirmed by XRF and ex-situ x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). In addition, in-situ XPS results indicated silicide formation, which plays a role in the structure formation mechanism.
- OSTI ID:
- 22089642
- Journal Information:
- Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 101, Issue 26; Other Information: (c) 2012 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0003-6951
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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