The focused helium ion beam microscope is a versatile imaging and nanofabrication instrument enabling direct-write lithography with sub-10 nm resolution. Subsurface damage and swelling of substrates due to helium ion implantation is generally unwanted. However, these effects can also be leveraged for specific nanofabrication tasks. To explore this, we investigate focused helium ion beam induced swelling of bulk crystalline silicon and free-standing amorphous silicon nitride membranes using various irradiation strategies. We show that the creation of near-surface voids due to helium ion implantation can be used to induce surface nanostructure and create subsurface nanochannels. By tailoring the ion dose and beam energy, the size and depth of the swollen features can be controlled. Swelling heights of several hundred nanometers are demonstrated, and for the embedded nanochannels, void internal diameters down to 30 nm are shown. Potential applications include the engineering of texturized substrates and the prototyping of on-chip nanofluidic transport devices.
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Helium implantation in Si (100): Swelling, microstructure, and mechanical property changes
Microstructural changes induced by helium implantation in materials lead to volumetric swelling and mechanical property changes. How these properties are linked and establishing direct relationships can be difficult due to the underlying material’s microstructure evolution. Some materials also experience a phase change due to irradiation damage making them even more complex to analyze. Here, single crystalline Si (100) was used to establish a relationship among these parameters. The swelling height as a function of implantation fluence can equally fit a linear relationship. Solely irradiation induced defects are observed at low fluence below 5.0 × 10 16 ions/cm 2 . An abrupt amorphous and crystalline mixed layer of ∼200 nm thick within a highly damaged polycrystalline matrix is observed when implantation fluence exceeds 5.0 × 10 16 ions/cm 2 , leading to the appearance of irradiation induced swelling and hardening behavior. As the fluence increases beyond 1.0 × 10 17 ions/cm 2 , the amorphous layer expands in size and the bubble size distribution takes the form of a Gaussian distribution with a maximum size of up to 6.4 nm, which causes a further increase in the height of swelling. Furthermore, irradiation induced softening appeared due to the enlarged bubble size and amorphization.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1807822
- PAR ID:
- 10382370
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Applied Physics
- Volume:
- 132
- Issue:
- 2
- ISSN:
- 0021-8979
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 025106
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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