Abstract
Ion-induced bending phenomena were studied in free-standing nano-sized Al cantilevers with thicknesses in the range of 89–200 nm. The objective is to present a predictive and useful model for the fabrication of micro- and nano-sized specimens. Samples were irradiated in a Tescan Lyra dual beam system with 30 kV Ga+ ions normal to the sample surface up to a maximum fluence of ~ 2 × 1021 m−2. Irrespective of thickness, all samples bent initially away from the Ga+ beam; as irradiation proceeded, the bending direction was reversed. The Al cantilever bending behavior is discussed in terms of depth-dependent volume change due to implanted Ga atoms, radiation-induced point defects and interstitial clusters. A kinetic model is designed which is based on a set of rate equations for concentrations of vacancies, interstitial atoms, Ga atoms and clusters of interstitial atoms. The bending crossover is explained by the formation of sessile interstitial clusters in a zone beyond the Ga+ penetration range. Model predictions agree with our experimental findings.
Highlights
Focused ion beams are used in the fabrication of micro- and nano-sized products [1,2,3,4]
To estimate the contribution of PD and interstitial clusters to cantilever bending, the analysis presented above is used to formulate of radiation damage evolution in a thin film
A series of bending experiments with cantilevers made from Al was performed
Summary
Focused ion beams are used in the fabrication of micro- and nano-sized products [1,2,3,4]. A rather recent application, which is the topic of this contribution, is the bending of free-standing thin structures such as films, nanotubes and nanowires [5,6,7,8,9,10,11]. Molecular dynamics (MD) calculations are used to simulate cascades at a high level of sophistication [14, 15]. These are, usually limited by the available processing capacity to small volumes or number of consecutive cascades—full simulation of a bending experiment in a 5 9 2 9 0.2 lm cantilever would involve, for instance, the order of 1010 cascade events with about 1.2 9 1011 atoms each, making it unpractical at the present time
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