Search Results
Strong out-of-plane magnetic anisotropy in ion irradiated anatase TiO2 thin films
2016, Stiller, M., Barzola-Quiquia, J., Esquinazi, P., Spemann, D., Meijer, J., Lorenz, M., Grundmann, M.
The temperature and field dependence of the magnetization of epitaxial, undoped anatase TiO2 thin films on SrTiO3 substrates was investigated. Low-energy ion irradiation was used to modify the surface of the films within a few nanometers, yet with high enough energy to produce oxygen and titanium vacancies. The as-prepared thin film shows ferromagnetism which increases after irradiation with low-energy ions. An optimal and clear magnetic anisotropy was observed after the first irradiation, opposite to the expected form anisotropy. Taking into account the experimental parameters, titanium vacancies as di-Frenkel pairs appear to be responsible for the enhanced ferromagnetism and the strong anisotropy observed in our films. The magnetic impurities concentrations was measured by particle-induced X-ray emission with ppm resolution. They are ruled out as a source of the observed ferromagnetism before and after irradiation.
GaN-based radial heterostructure nanowires grown by MBE and ALD
2013, Lari, L., Ross, I.M., Walther, T., Black, K., Cheze, C., Geelhaar, L., Riechert, H., Chalker, P.R.
A combination of molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) and atomic layer deposition (ALD) was adopted to fabricate GaN-based core/shell NW structures. ALD was used to deposit a HfO2 shell of onto the MBE grown GaN NWs. Electron transparent samples were prepared by focussed ion beam methods and characterized using state-of-the-art analytical transmission and scanning transmission electron microscopy. The polycrystalline coating was found to be uniform along the whole length of the NWs. Photoluminescence and Raman spectroscopy analysis confirms that the HfO2 ALD coating does not add any structural defect when deposited on the NWs.
Ripple coarsening on ion beam-eroded surfaces
2014, Teichmann, M., Lorbeer, J., Frost, F., Rauschenbach, B.
Abstract: The temporal evolution of ripple pattern on Ge, Si, Al2O3, and SiO2 by low-energy ion beam erosion with Xe + ions is studied. The experiments focus on the ripple dynamics in a fluence range from 1.1 × 1017 cm-2 to 1.3 × 1019 cm-2 at ion incidence angles of 65° and 75° and ion energies of 600 and 1,200 eV. At low fluences a short-wavelength ripple structure emerges on the surface that is superimposed and later on dominated by long wavelength structures for increasing fluences. The coarsening of short wavelength ripples depends on the material system and angle of incidence. These observations are associated with the influence of reflected primary ions and gradient-dependent sputtering. The investigations reveal that coarsening of the pattern is a universal behavior for all investigated materials, just at the earliest accessible stage of surface evolution.
Nanostructures on fused silica surfaces produced by ion beam sputtering with Al co-deposition
2017, Liu, Ying, Hirsch, Dietmar, Fechner, Renate, Hong, Yilin, Fu, Shaojun, Frost, Frank, Rauschenbach, Bernd
The ion beam sputtering (IBS) of smooth mono-elemental Si with impurity co-deposition is extended to a pre-rippled binary compound surface of fused silica (SiO2). The dependence of the rms roughness and the deposited amount of Al on the distance from the Al source under Ar+ IBS with Al co-deposition was investigated on smooth SiO2, pre-rippled SiO2, and smooth Si surfaces, using atomic force microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Although the amounts of Al deposited on these three surfaces all decreased with increasing distance from the Al target, the morphology and rms roughness of the smooth Si surface did not demonstrate a strong distance dependence. In contrast to smooth Si, the rms roughness of both the smooth and pre-rippled SiO2 surfaces exhibited a similar distance evolution trend of increasing, decreasing, and final stabilization at the distance where the results were similar to those obtained without Al co-deposition. However, the pre-rippled SiO2 surfaces showed a stronger modulation of rms roughness than the smooth surfaces. At the incidence angles of 60° and 70°, dot-decorated ripples and roof-tiles were formed on the smooth SiO2 surfaces, respectively, whereas nanostructures of closely aligned grains and blazed facets were generated on the pre-rippled SiO2, respectively. The combination of impurity co-deposition with pre-rippled surfaces was found to facilitate the formation of novel types of nanostructures and morphological growth. The initial ripples act as a template to guide the preferential deposition of Al on the tops of the ripples or the ripple sides facing the Al wedge, but not in the valleys between the ripples, leading to 2D grains and quasi-blazed grating, which offer significant promise in optical applications. The rms roughness enhancement is attributed not to AlSi, but to AlOxFy compounds originating mainly from the Al source.
Stress-Induced 3D Chiral Fractal Metasurface for Enhanced and Stabilized Broadband Near-Field Optical Chirality
2019, Tseng M.L., Lin Z.-H., Kuo H.Y., Huang T.-T., Huang Y.-T., Chung T.L., Chu C.H., Huang J.-S., Tsai D.P.
Metasurfaces comprising 3D chiral structures have shown great potential in chiroptical applications such as chiral optical components and sensing. So far, the main challenges lie in the nanofabrication and the limited operational bandwidth. Homogeneous and localized broadband near-field optical chirality enhancement has not been achieved. Here, an effective nanofabrication method to create a 3D chiral metasurface with far- and near-field broadband chiroptical properties is demonstrated. A focused ion beam is used to cut and stretch nanowires into 3D Archimedean spirals from stacked films. The 3D Archimedean spiral is a self-similar chiral fractal structure sensitive to the chirality of light. The spiral exhibits far- and near-field broadband chiroptical responses from 2 to 8 µm. With circularly polarized light (CPL), the spiral shows superior far-field transmission dissymmetry and handedness-dependent near-field localization. With linearly polarized excitation, homogeneous and highly enhanced broadband near-field optical chirality is generated at a stably localized position inside the spiral. The effective yet straightforward fabrication strategy allows easy fabrication of 3D chiral structures with superior broadband far-field chiroptical response as well as strongly enhanced and stably localized broadband near-field optical chirality. The reported method and chiral metasurface may find applications in broadband chiral optics and chiral sensing. © 2019 The Authors. Published by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
Computer modeling of single-layer nanocluster formation in a thin SiO2 layer buried in Si by ion mixing and thermal phase decomposition
2019, Prüfer, T., Möller, W., Heinig, K.-H., Wolf, D., Engelmann, H.-J., Xu, X., Von Borany, J.
A single sheet of Si nanoclusters with an average diameter of about 2 nm has been formed in a 30 nm Si/7 nm SiO2/Si layer stack by 50 and 60 keV Si+ ion-beam mixing at room temperature and fluences between 8.5 ⋯ 1015 and 2.6 ⋯ 1016 ions/cm2 and by subsequent thermal annealing at a temperature above 1000 °C. Computer modeling of the process is accomplished by TRIDYN dynamic ballistic simulation of ion mixing and subsequent lattice kinetic Monte Carlo simulation of the phase decomposition of substoichiometric silicon oxide into Si nanoclusters in a SiO2 matrix. The simulation algorithms are briefly described with special emphasis on the choice of governing parameters for the present system. In comparison to the experimental results, it is concluded that the predicted ion mixing profiles overestimate the interface broadening. This discrepancy is attributed to the neglect of chemical driving forces in connection with thermal-spike induced diffusion, which tends to reconstitute the Si/SiO2 interfaces. With a corresponding correction and a suitable number of Monte Carlo steps, the experimentally obtained areal densities and average diameters of the nanoclusters are successfully reproduced.
Behavior of a porous particle in a radiofrequency plasma under pulsed argon ion beam bombardment
2010, Wiese, R., Sushkov, V., Kersten, H., Ikkurthi, V.R., Schneider, R., Hippler, R.
The behavior of a single porous particle with a diameter of 250 μm levitating in a radiofrequency (RF) plasma under pulsed argon ion beam bombardment was investigated. The motion of the particle under the action of the ion beam was observed to be an oscillatory motion. The Fourier-analyzed motion is dominated by the excitation frequency of the pulsed ion beam and odd higher harmonics, which peak near the resonance frequency. The appearance of even harmonics is explained by a variation of the particles's charge depending on its position in the plasma sheath. The Fourier analysis also allows a discussion of neutral and ion forces. The particle's charge was derived and compared with theoretical estimates based on the orbital motion-limited (OML) model using also a numerical simulation of the RF discharge. The derived particle's charge is about 7-15 times larger than predicted by the theoretical models. This difference is attributed to the porous structure of the particle. © IOP Publishing Ltd and Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft.
Site-controlled formation of single Si nanocrystals in a buried SiO2 matrix using ion beam mixing
2018, Xu, X., Prüfer, T., Wolf, D., Engelmann, H.-J., Bischoff, L., Hübner, R., Heinig, K.-H., Möller, W., Facsko, S., von Borany, J., Hlawacek, G.
For future nanoelectronic devices - such as room-temperature single electron transistors - the site-controlled formation of single Si nanocrystals (NCs) is a crucial prerequisite. Here, we report an approach to fabricate single Si NCs via medium-energy Si+ or Ne+ ion beam mixing of Si into a buried SiO2 layer followed by thermally activated phase separation. Binary collision approximation and kinetic Monte Carlo methods are conducted to gain atomistic insight into the influence of relevant experimental parameters on the Si NC formation process. Energy-filtered transmission electron microscopy is performed to obtain quantitative values on the Si NC size and distribution in dependence of the layer stack geometry, ion fluence and thermal budget. Employing a focused Ne+ beam from a helium ion microscope, we demonstrate site-controlled self-assembly of single Si NCs. Line irradiation with a fluence of 3000 Ne+/nm2 and a line width of 4 nm leads to the formation of a chain of Si NCs, and a single NC with 2.2 nm diameter is subsequently isolated and visualized in a few nanometer thin lamella prepared by a focused ion beam (FIB). The Si NC is centered between the SiO2 layers and perpendicular to the incident Ne+ beam.
Phenomenology of iron-assisted ion beam pattern formation on Si(001)
2011, MacKo, S., Frost, F., Engler, M., Hirsch, D., Höche, T., Grenzer, J., Michely, T.
Pattern formation on Si(001) through 2 keV Kr+ ion beam erosion of Si(001) at an incident angle of # = 30° and in the presence of sputter codeposition or co-evaporation of Fe is investigated by using in situ scanning tunneling microscopy, ex situ atomic force microscopy and electron microscopy. The phenomenology of pattern formation is presented, and experiments are conducted to rule out or determine the processes of relevance in ion beam pattern formation on Si(001) with impurities. Special attention is given to the determination of morphological phase boundaries and their origin. Height fluctuations, local flux variations, induced chemical inhomogeneities, silicide formation and ensuing composition-dependent sputtering are found to be of relevance for pattern formation.
Controllable Laser Ion Acceleration
2016, Kawata, S., Kamiyama, D., Ohtake, Y., Takano, M., Barada, D., Kong, Q., Wang, P.X., Gu, Y.J., Wang, W.M., Limpouch, J., Andreev, A., Bulanov, S.V., Sheng, Z.M., Klimo, O., Psikal, J., Ma, Y.Y., Li, X.F., Yu, Q.S.
In this paper a future laser ion accelerator is discussed to make the laser-based ion accelerator compact and controllable. Especially a collimation device is focused in this paper. The future laser ion accelerator should have an ion source, ion collimators, ion beam bunchers, and ion post acceleration devices [Laser Therapy 22, 103(2013)]: the ion particle energy and the ion energy spectrum are controlled to meet requirements for a future compact laser ion accelerator for ion cancer therapy or for other purposes. The energy efficiency from the laser to ions is improved by using a solid target with a fine sub-wavelength structure or a near-critical density gas plasma. The ion beam collimation is performed by holes behind the solid target or a multi-layered solid target. The control of the ion energy spectrum and the ion particle energy, and the ion beam bunching would be successfully realized by a multistage laser-target interaction.