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, Vol. 96, Issue 26; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.3441406; (c) 2010 American Institute of Physics; ISSN 0003-6951
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

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