Publications Repository - Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf

The talk gives an overview about high energy ion-induced anisotropic deformation of nanostructures, also called ion beam shaping, especially of different nanoparticles embedded in silica. For selected examples, swift-heavy-ion-induced deformation of spherical Au and Ge nanoclusters (NCs) embedded in SiO2 was studied experimentally and theoretically. Ge NC shaping is size dependent under irradiation with 38 MeV iodine ions and with 89 and 185 MeV gold ions. Large NCs don’t deform, smaller ones become discus-shaped, and very small ones show Ge loss at their equator. Small Au NCs deform into rods and wires, and, rather exotic, at critical NC size Au wires are squeezed out of the poles of the Au spheres.
Experimental results are compared with modeling and atomistic computer simulations. The model describes the ion-induced shape evolution of different elements for different ion species, energies and fluences even quantitatively, where only one fit parameter describes all experiments. It is based on classical thermodynamics and hydrodynamics only.