Efficient nanopatterning of Ge surface induced by oblique argon cluster ion beam

Abstract

The evolution of the self-assembled nanostructures formed on the Ge (100) surface as a result of sputtering by an obliquely incident argon cluster ion beam is studied. The bombardment was carried out with Ar1000+ ions at energy of 10 keV and angle of incidence of 60˚ from the normal while varying the ion fluence from 8 × 1014 up to 2 × 1016 ions/cm2. It is found that parallel-mode ordered ripples with significant aspect ratios can be produced on the Ge surface at a minimum sputtering depth. Such nanostructures have not previously been formed on the Ge surface with conventional argon ions. Our findings prove that argon cluster ion beam is effective for nanopatterning the surface of single-component semiconductors.