Ion-sculpting of nanopores in amorphous metals, semiconductors, and insulators

Journal Article · Mon Jun 28 00:00:00 EDT 2010 · Applied Physics Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3441406· OSTI ID:21366999

George, H Bola; Madi, Charbel S; Aziz, Michael J ^[1]; Hoogerheide, David P ^[2]; Bell, David C ^[1]; Golovchenko, Jene A ^[1]

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1. Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138 (United States)
2. Department of Physics, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138 (United States)

We report the closure of nanopores to single-digit nanometer dimensions by ion sculpting in a range of amorphous materials including insulators (SiO{sub 2} and SiN), semiconductors (a-Si), and metallic glasses (Pd{sub 80}Si{sub 20})--the building blocks of a single-digit nanometer electronic device. Ion irradiation of nanopores in crystalline materials (Pt and Ag) does not cause nanopore closure. Ion irradiation of c-Si pores below 100 deg. C and above 600 deg. C, straddling the amorphous-crystalline dynamic transition temperature, yields closure at the lower temperature but no mass transport at the higher temperature. Ion beam nanosculpting appears to be restricted to materials that either are or become amorphous during ion irradiation.

• OSTI ID: 21366999
• Journal Information: Applied Physics Letters, Journal Name: Applied Physics Letters Journal Issue: 26 Vol. 96; ISSN APPLAB; ISSN 0003-6951
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY
ALLOYS
BEAMS
CHALCOGENIDES
ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT
ELEMENTS
EQUIPMENT
ION BEAMS
ION TEMPERATURE
MATERIALS
METALLIC GLASSES
METALS
NANOSTRUCTURES
NITRIDES
NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PALLADIUM ALLOYS
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
PLATINUM METAL ALLOYS
PNICTIDES
SEMICONDUCTOR MATERIALS
SILICON ALLOYS
SILICON COMPOUNDS
SILICON NITRIDES
SILICON OXIDES
THERMODYNAMIC PROPERTIES
TRANSITION ELEMENT ALLOYS
TRANSITION TEMPERATURE