Abstract
In this work we report an experimental approach by combining in situ sequential top-down and bottom-up processes to induce the organization of nanosized nickel particles. The top-down process consists in xenon ion bombardment of a crystalline silicon substrate to generate a pattern, followed by depositing a ∼15 nm titanium oxynitride thin film to act as a metallic diffusion barrier. Then, metallic nanoparticles are deposited by argon ion sputtering a pure nickel target, and the sample is annealed to promote the organization of the nickel nanoparticles (a bottom-up process). According to the experimental results, the surface pattern and the substrate biaxial surface strain are the driving forces behind the alignment and organization of the nickel nanoparticles. Moreover, the ratio between the F of metallic atoms arriving at the substrate relative to its surface diffusion mobility determines the nucleation regime of the nickel nanoparticles. These features are presented and discussed considering the existing technical literature on the subject.
Highlights
Nickel nanoparticles are commonly used as catalysts for growing carbon nanotubes CNT that, because of their unique characteristics, require very specific production-processing conditions[1,2,3,4,5,6,7] Most of the work involving the Ni-CNT system relies on expensive substrate preparation such as X-ray and laser interference lithography.[1]
The top-down process consists first in Xe+ ion beam bombardment of crystalline silicon substrates generating regular patterns followed by depositing a titanium oxynitride thin film to prevent the formation of nickel silicide
A mesoscale size Ni particles organization that is ascribed to elastic forces prompted by the strain of the TiNxOy interface deposited on the sculpted Si, and that can extend hundreds of nanometers
Summary
Nickel nanoparticles are commonly used as catalysts for growing carbon nanotubes CNT that, because of their unique characteristics, require very specific production-processing conditions[1,2,3,4,5,6,7] Most of the work involving the Ni-CNT system relies on expensive (top-down process) substrate preparation such as X-ray and laser interference lithography.[1]. An excellent review on the subject was recently published by Munoz-Garcia and coworkers.[11]
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