Sputtering of silicon nanopowders by an argon cluster ion beam.

Beilstein J Nanotechnol

Department of Physics and Key Laboratory of Artificial Micro- and Nano-structures of Ministry of Education, Hubei Nuclear Solid Physics Key Laboratory and Center for Ion Beam Application, School of Physics and Technology, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China.

Published: January 2019

AI Article Synopsis

  • The study used an Ar cluster ion beam to irradiate Si nanopowder targets, focusing on parameters like energy and dose.
  • Results showed that sputtering yield decreased with higher doses and target densities, with an unusual peak at 17.3 keV where yield was significantly greater than bulk Si.
  • The findings were attributed to a combination of finite size effects and debris formation impacting the sputtering process.

Article Abstract

In this work an Ar cluster ion beam with energy in the range of 10-70 keV and dose of 7.2 × 10-2.3 × 10 cluster/cm was used to irradiate pressed Si nanopowder targets consisting of particles with a mean diameter of 60 nm. The influence of the target density and the cluster ion beam parameters (energy and dose) on the sputtering depth and sputtering yield was studied. The sputtering yield was found to decrease with increasing dose and target density. The energy dependence demonstrated an unusual non-monotonic behavior. At 17.3 keV a maximum of the sputtering yield was observed, which was more than forty times higher than that of the bulk Si. The surface roughness at low energy demonstrates a similar energy dependence with a maximum near 17 keV. The dose and energy dependence of the sputtering yield was explained by the competition of the finite size effect and the effect of debris formation.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6334788PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.3762/bjnano.10.13DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

sputtering yield
16
cluster ion
12
ion beam
12
energy dependence
12
kev dose
8
target density
8
sputtering
6
energy
6
sputtering silicon
4
silicon nanopowders
4

Similar Publications

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!