School of Physics and CRANN, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Republic of Ireland.
Beilstein J Nanotechnol. 2012;3:579-85. doi: 10.3762/bjnano.3.67. Epub 2012 Aug 8.
We investigate the ability of a focused helium ion beam to selectively modify and mill materials. The sub nanometer probe size of the helium ion microscope used provides lateral control not previously available for helium ion irradiation experiments. At high incidence angles the helium ions were found to remove surface material from a silicon lamella leaving the subsurface structure intact for further analysis. Surface roughness and contaminants were both reduced by the irradiation process. Fabrication is also realized with a high level of patterning acuity. Implantation of helium beneath the surface of the sample is visualized in cross section allowing direct observation of the extended effects of high dose irradiation. The effect of the irradiation on the crystal structure of the material is presented. Applications of the sample modification process are presented and further prospects discussed.
我们研究了聚焦氦离子束选择性修饰和铣削材料的能力。氦离子显微镜所用的亚纳米探针尺寸提供了以前氦离子辐照实验所无法获得的横向控制。在高入射角下,氦离子被发现可以从硅薄片中去除表面材料,而使亚表面结构保持完整以供进一步分析。辐照过程还降低了表面粗糙度和污染物。通过这种方法还可以实现高精度的图案制作。通过对样品横截面的离子注入,可以直观地观察到氦离子在样品表面以下的注入情况,从而直接观察高剂量辐照的扩展影响。本文还介绍了辐照对材料晶体结构的影响。展示了样品改性过程的应用,并讨论了进一步的前景。