Nanoripple patterning under medium energy implantation using metal foreign atoms

Ion beam sputtering (IBS) is a universal phenomenon that can be used for the production of nanopatterns in a wide range of materials and scales. Many semiconductor systems are suitable for this kind of processing, but Si is certainly the most studied one due to its technological relevance and mono-elemental nature [1]. In the last years, the key role of metal impurities for the initial formation of the pattern has been clearly established [2], changing the field in a significant way. Still, several questions remain open, such as the segregation effect of metal silicides [3], the relevance of preferential sputtering for the different metal species [4], or the threshold metal concentration needed for nanopatterning at given experimental conditions. Most of these works are restricted to low energetic beams (0.5-5 keV) produced with conventional ion guns and different set-ups to induce indirect metal codeposition [5]. However, in order to have an appropriate control of the metal species more dedicated systems, where metal could be also directly incorporated, are becoming essential. In this communication, we will present our recent experimental works on IBS nanopatterning of Si at medium energies (40 keV) with simultaneous metal incorporation [6]. In order to understand the influence of the metal on the pattern formation we study three different experimental systems produced with (a) direct metal implantation, (b) indirect metal co-deposition, i.e., with simultaneous irradiation of a metallic plate adjacent to the target, and (c) with non-metal implantation (used as a reference). In all cases, irradiation was carried out in a high-flux ion implanter using an incidence angle of 60º with respect to the target surface normal and for different ion fluences. The dynamics of the pattern is studied using atomic force microscopy (AFM) to characterize the pattern morphology, and particularly to quantify the surface roughness and pattern wavelength. Metal content was determined with Rutherford backscattering spectrometry and the formation of silicides mapped with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. In addition, we performed current sensing AFM as well as transmission electron microscopy analysis of the metal containing samples in order to disclose the formation of any compositional pattern and its eventual correlation with the morphological one. We will discuss the main differences arising from the different metal incorporation paths, paying special attention to effects such as geometrical shadowing, the threshold contents required to trigger the pattern in every case and the formation of metal silicides. [1] J. Muñoz-García et al., Mater. Sci. Eng. R-Rep. 86, 1 (2014) [2] C. Madi et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 246102 (2008) [3] M. Engler et al., Nanotechnology 25, 115303 (2014) [4] R. Gago et al., Nanotechnology 25, 415301 (2014) [5] K. Zhang et al., Nanotechnology 25, 085301 (2014) [6] A. Redondo-Cubero et al. Phys. Rev. B 86, 085436 (2012)