Abstract
This is a short review about the ion irradiation-induced foams in antimonide films. III–V semiconductors like InSb and GaSb can be transformed into solid foams with nanometric dimensions upon irradiation with swift heavy ions, increasing significantly the effective surface area of the material. The giant surface-to-bulk ratio of solid nanofoams, combined with the small energy bandgap of antimonide binary compounds offer new possibilities for the development of electronic devices with improved energy efficiency. The characterization of antimonide nanofoams structure, composition and electronic properties is thus essential to fully exploit their promising technological advantages. Here we show that InSb and GaSb films deposited by magnetron sputtering on SiO2/Si substrates can be rendered porous upon irradiation with 17 MeV Au+7 ions, while no evidence of porosity was observed in AlSb films irradiated under similar conditions. InSb films initially amorphous, become polycrystalline with zincblende phase upon irradiation with fluence 2x1014 cm−2, at the same time as the accumulation of voids result in the complete transformation of the films from compact-continuous to foam-like structure. Single-crystalline InSb films can also be transformed into solid foams upon irradiation, however, the ion fluence required to attain similar levels of porosity (compared to amorphous InSb deposited by magnetron sputtering) is significantly higher. GaSb films, in a similar way, can also be transformed into solid foams upon irradiation, although, for GaSb films deposited by magnetron sputtering, the structure of the foams is amorphous with significant increase of oxide fraction upon irradiation. The ion irradiation effects on the electronic properties of single crystalline InSb films are also presented. We compare the ion irradiation effects in different antimonide binary compounds with results about their crystalline structure and morphology using X-ray diffraction analysis and scanning electron microscopy.
Highlights
This is a short review about the ion irradiation-induced foams in antimonide films
We estimate a characteristic temperature T0 of approximately 349 K for this scattering mechanism. In this brief review we show that antimonide binary compounds can be transformed into solid foams with nanometric dimensions upon irradiation with 17 MeV Au+7 ions
The small bandgap of InSb and GaSb combined with the giant surface area of solid foams offer new possibilities for the development of energy efficient electronic and photonic devices
Summary
Magnetron sputtering is a versatile technique mostly used for thin film deposition, allowing a good control of film thickness, composition and structure on a variety of structures (Giulian et al, 2017a). We deposited AlSb, GaSb and InSb films on SiO2/Si substrates, with thickness varying from 75 nm to 500 nm. Experimental parameters are described in detail elsewhere (Giulian et al, 2017a). From here on sputter-deposited films will be denoted InSb-sputt, GaSb-sputt and AlSb-sputt. Irradiations were performed at room temperature, with the ion beam parallel to the samples normal. Single-crystalline InSb films, ∼370 nm thick, epitaxially grown on semi-insulating GaAs substrates by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) were irradiated with same energy and fluence, and the results are presented here for comparison. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses were performed before and after irradiation (experimental details described elsewhere (Giulian et al, 2017b, 2019, 2017a)). A magnetic field of 3280 Gauss was applied perpendicular to the sample and a current smaller than 1 mA was used in all measurements
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
