Particle-in-cell Monte Carlo collision (PIC/MCC) modeling of dual frequency asymmetric capacitively coupled plasma (CCP) sources has been carried out. In particular, the following configurations have been modeled: 27/2 MHz system with an electrode separation of 2 cm, 60/2 MHz system with a gap of 4.5 cm, and 162/13.56 MHz system with a gap of 3.2 cm. It is found that both the ion flux to the el...

Under energetic ion bombardment, amorphous materials deform plastically in the form of anisotropic growth. At medium electronic stopping power (5 to 30 keV/nm) this phenomenon starts only after a certain incubation dose depending on values of the electronic stopping power and temperature. This delay is modeled on the basis of the assumption of a drastic irradiation induced viscosity reduction, ...

Solid argon is a model system for studies of radiative and nonradiative processes associated with electronic excitation by MeV light ion bombardment. The electronic excited states, excitons and excimers, have been extensively studied in this material and careful studies have also been made of the ejection (sputtering) of atoms from the surface. The sputtering requires transfer of energy from el...

Measurements of stress evolution during low-energy argon ion bombardment of Si have been made using a real-time wafer curvature technique. During irradiation, the stress reaches a steady-state compressive value that depends on the flux and energy. Once irradiation is terminated, the measured stress relaxes slightly in a short period of time to a final value. To understand the ion-induced stress...

We present a systematic in situ study of the effect of postdeposition low-energy s200 eVd ion bombardment on resistance and surface topography of ultrathin iron s,50 Åd and copper s,130 Åd films. The ion-beam-induced nanosmoothening occurs while material is being removed and gives rise to an initial decrease in resistance followed by a steady increase as the film is subsequently uniformly erode...

The results reported in this letter indicate that the spatial separation of the vacancy and interstitial excesses which result from ion bombardment gives rise to stable voids upon annealing at 850 °C even for implants where the projected ion range is only of the order of a few thousand Ångstrom. Such voids have been observed directly by transmission electron microscopy. Furthermore, in cases wh...

In this study we present Monte Carlo simulation studies of thin films deposited in the ion beam assisted deposition (IBAD) process. The simulations were performed on a simple cubic lattice with the Metropolis sampling algorithm. Examination of the microstructure and morphology of the simulated film shows that the processes of the surface diffusion of adatoms and the sputtering of the film durin...

Bottom-up growth of microscopic pillars is observed at room temperature on GaN irradiated with a Ga+ beam in a gaseous XeF2 environment. Ion bombardment produces Ga droplets which evolve into pillars, each comprised of a spherical Ga cap atop a Ga-filled, gallium fluoride tapered tube (sheath). The structures form through an interdependent, self-ordering cycle of liquid cap growth and solid she...

Ion bombardment at extreme grazing incidence leads to the formation of remarkably well ordered, one to two atomic layer deep, parallel grooves on a Cu(001) surface. These self-organized grooves are oriented parallel to the ion's plane of incidence and their period can be controlled between approximately 4 and 15 nm. We have identified two distinct temperature regimes: Between about 200 and 300 ...

Ion bombardment causes surface instabilities on a range of materials including metals, semiconductors, and insulators. However, the proposed mechanisms for these instabilities have yet to explain the rich range of nanometer-scale patterns that are observed experimentally. Here we show that smoothing balanced by impact angle dependent mass redistribution explains the atomistic origin of ripple f...