AES, EELS and TRIM investigation of InSb and InP compounds subjected to Ar ions bombardment

The interaction of ions with matter plays an important role in the treatment of material surfaces. In this paper we study the effect of argon ion bombardment on the InSb surface in comparison with the InP one. The Ar⁺ ions, accelerated at low energy (300 eV) lead to compositional and structural changes in InP and InSb compounds. The InP surface is more sensitive to Ar⁺ ions than that of InSb. These results are directly inferred from the qualitative Auger electron spectra (AES) and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) analysis. However, these techniques alone do not allow us to determine with accuracy the disturbed depth in Ar⁺ ions of InP and InSb compounds. For this reason, we combine AES and EELS with the simulation method TRIM (transport and range of ions in matter) to show the mechanism of interaction between the ions and the InP or InSb and hence determine the disturbed depth as a function of Ar⁺ energy.     

Formation and decomposition of nitrides under ion bombardment

The chemical processes of formation and decomposition of narrow-gap nitrides InN and GaAs_{1 ? x} N _x under ion bombardment have been investigated by Auger electron spectroscopy. It is shown that, due to chemical instability, a large fraction of InN decomposes with formation of metal clusters under ion bombardment. It is established that bombardment of GaAs with a beam of N ₂ ⁺ and Ar⁺ ions makes it possible to obtain a chemically homogeneous GaAs_{1 ? x} N _x solid solution with a high nitrogen content (x = 0.1), whereas implantation of only N ₂ ⁺ ions leads to the formation of a mixture of GaN, GaAsN, and GaAs phases. It is concluded that secondary ion cascades, induced by heavy ions, stimulate nitridation reaction, homogenize the spatial atomic distribution, and shift the dynamic equilibrium to the formation of a single-phase solution.     

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic studies of PbO surfaces bombarded with He+, Ne+, Ar+, Xe+ and Kr+

The surface composition of PbO has been studied with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy after bombardment with several inert gas ions of 400 eV. The results show reduction of PbO to metallic Pb with the degree of damage following the order He⁺ > Ne⁺ >Ar⁺. Both Kr⁺ and Xe⁺ did not reduce the oxide. The depth of damage varied from ≈9 Å for He⁺ to ≈1 Å for Ar⁺ bombardment. The results were compared to a collisional and a thermal model of the sputtering process.     

SEM and XPS studies of nanohole arrays on InP(1 0 0) surfaces created by coupling AAO templates and low energy Ar ion sputtering

The aim of the present study is to demonstrate the feasibility to form well-ordered nanoholes on InP(1 0 0) surfaces by low Ar⁺ ion sputtering process in UHV conditions from anodized aluminum oxide (AAO) templates. This process is a promising approach in creating ordered arrays of surface nanostructures with controllable size and morphology. To follow the Ar⁺ ion sputtering effects on the AAO/InP surfaces, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to determine the different surface species. In_4d and P_2p core level spectra were recorded on different InP(1 0 0) surfaces after ions bombardment. XPS results showed the presence of metallic indium on both smooth InP(1 0 0) and AAO/InP(1 0 0) surfaces. Finally, we showed that this experiment led to the formation of metallic In dropplets about 10 nm in diameter on nanoholes patterned InP surface while the as-received InP(1 0 0) surface generated metallic In about 60 nm in diameter.     

Preferential sputtering of TIC under keV Ar+ ion bombardment: Simultaneous sputtering-ISS measurement with He+ and Ar+ ions

The composition change of the outermost atom layer of TiC(110) under ion bombardment with 1.5–3 keV He⁺ and He⁺ + Ar⁺ ions has been measured by ion scattering spectroscopy with He⁺ ions at different sample temperatures. It has been found that the preferential sputtering of C atoms takes place for both the He⁺ and Ar⁺ ion bombardment, however the preferred sputtering is more pronounced for Ar⁺ ions than for He⁺ ions. The ion bombardment with He⁺ ions at elevated sample temperatures hardly results in any change in surface composition below ～800°C, while Ar⁺ ion bombardment results in C enrichment for elevated temperatures as reported so far.     

Formation of nanodots on oblique ion sputtered InP surfaces

Using a field emission gun based scanning electron microscopy, we report the formation of nanodots on the InP surfaces after bombardment by 100 keV Ar⁺ ions under off-normal ion incidence (30° and 60° with respect to the surface normal) condition in the fluence range of 1 × 10¹⁶ to 1 × 10¹⁸ ions cm⁻². Nanodots start forming after a threshold fluence of about 1 × 10¹⁷ ions cm⁻². It is also seen that although the average dot diameter increases with fluence the average number of dots decreases with increasing fluence. Formation of such nanostructured features is attributed due to ion-beam sputtering. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis of the ion sputtered surface clearly shows In enrichment of the sputtered InP surface. The observation of growth of nanodots on the Ar⁺-ion sputtered InP surface under the present experimental condition matches well with the recent simulation results based on an atomistic model of sputter erosion.     

An RBS technique for measurement of the erosion rate of ion implanted films

The glancing incidence Rutherford backscattering method is used to study the erosion of aluminium films during bombardment by 10 keV Ar⁺ ions. It is found that the erosion rate of the firm is about one third the value expected and also that the depth profile of previously implanted 80 ke VPb⁺ ions changes during the erosion.     

ISS measurement of surface composition of AuCu alloys by simultaneous ion bombardments with Ar+ and He + ions

Surface composition of Au-Cu(43 at%) alloy under 1.5–5 keV argon ion bombardment has been investigated by ion scattering spectroscopy (ISS). In this experiment, we adopted a specific technique to use mixed He⁺ and Ar⁺ ions as primary beam in order to perform sputtering (Ar⁺) and ISS measurement (He⁺) simultaneously. The outermost atom layer of Au-Cu alloys under Ar⁺ ion bombardment is Au-rich leading to the conclusion that Ar⁺ ion bombardment of AuCu alloys causes the preferential sputtering of Cu atoms, resulting in a Au-rich outermost atom layer and a depletion layer of Au atoms beneath the outermost atom layer due to ion-beam-enhanced surface segregation. This result explains the experimental results obtained by AES as well.     

Ion-beam induced mixing in Al-Ni

Ion beam induced mixing of Al-Ni has been studied using N ₂ ⁺ and Ar⁺ bombardment. High dose (4×10¹⁷ ions cm^–2) nitrogen bombardment was found to cause blister formation with no unambiguous evidence of mixing. However, using argon ions at elevated substrate temperatures (400–450 °C) led to extensive mixing of 2000 Å Al layers on Ni. The mixing mechanism is considered to be point defect mediated radiation enhanced diffusion with a possible contribution from cascade mixing and interfacial oxide layer breakdown during the initial stages of treatment.     

Surface characteristics of V-Ga alloys after irradiation by Ar<Superscript>+</Superscript> and N<Superscript>+</Superscript> ions

V-5Ga-6Cr and V-5Ga-0.05Ce vanadium alloys irradiated by Ar⁺ and N⁺ ions with energies of 20 keV have been investigated. Irradiation by Ar⁺ and N⁺ ions leads to strengthening of the surface layers of samples. Their thicknesses exceed the projectile ranges of these ions (16.4 and 32.8 nm, respectively) in vanadium by more than two orders of magnitude. The experimentally determined penetration depth of argon ions is less that 70 nm. The sample side irradiated by Ar⁺ ions has a predominant orientation of crystallites in the (100) and (211) planes, while the unirradiated sample has a (110) surface. The lattice parameter of the irradiated sample does not differ from that of the initial sample. Possible mechanisms by which modified deep layers are formed during ion bombardment are discussed.     

Low energy Ar-ion bombardment effects on the CeO2 surface

The structure and electronic properties of epitaxial grown CeO₂(1 1 1) thin films before and after Ar⁺ bombardment have been comprehensively studied with synchrotron radiation photoemission spectroscopy (SRPES). Ar⁺ bombardment of the surface causes a new emission appearing at 1.6 eV above the Fermi edge which is related to the localized Ce 4f¹ orbital in the reduced oxidation state Ce³⁺. Under the condition of the energy of Ar ions being 1 keV and a constant current density of 0.5 μA/cm², the intensity of the reduced state Ce³⁺ increases with increasing time of sputtering and reaches a constant value after 15 min sputtering, which corresponds to the surface being exposed to 2.8 × 10¹⁵ ions/cm². The reduction of CeO₂ is attributed to a preferential sputtering of oxygen from the surface. As a result, Ar⁺ bombardment leads to a gradual buildup of an, approximately 0.69 nm thick, sputtering altered layer. Our studies have demonstrated that Ar⁺ bombardment is an effective method for reducing CeO₂ to CeO_2−x and the degree of the reduction is related to the energy and amount of Ar ions been exposed to the CeO₂ surface.     

Combined EELS, LEED and SR-XPS study of ultra-thin crystalline layers of indium nitride on InP(1 0 0)—Effect of annealing at 450 °C

In this study, InP(1 0 0) surfaces were bombarded by argon ions in ultra high vacuum. Indium metallic droplets were created in well controlled quantities and played the role of precursors for the nitridation process. A glow discharge cell was used to produce a continuous plasma with a majority of N atomic species. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) studies indicated that the nitrogen combined with indium surface atoms to create InN thin films (two monolayers) on an In rich-InP(1 0 0) surface. This process occurred at low temperature: 250 °C. Synchrotron radiation photoemission (SR-XPS) studies of the valence band spectra, LEED and EELS measurements show an evolution of surface species and the effect of a 450 °C annealing of the InN/InP structures. The results reveal that annealing allows the crystallization of the thin InN layers, while the LEED pattern shows a (4 × 1) reconstruction. As a consequence, InN related structures in EELS and valence bands spectra are different before and after the annealing. According to SR-XPS measurements, the Fermi level is found to be pinned at 1.6 eV above the valence band maximum (VBM).     

On the use of the saha-eggert equation for quantitative sims analysis using argon primary ions

Samples of known composition have been bombarded by Ar⁺ ions. The resulting secondary ion mass spectra, obtained with two different types of SIMS instruments, were used to check the validity of the Saha-Eggert equation for the case of Ar⁺ ion bombardment.     

Sputter damage in Si surface by low energy Ar+ ion bombardment

The damage distributions in Si(1 0 0) surface after 1.0 and 0.5 keV Ar⁺ ion bombardment were studied using MEIS and Molecular dynamic (MD) simulation. The primary Ar⁺ ion beam direction was varied from surface normal to glancing angle. The MEIS results show that the damage thickness in 1.0 keV Ar ion bombardment is reduced from about 7.7 nm at surface normal incidence to 1.3 nm at the incident angle of 80°. However, the damage thickness in 0.5 keV Ar ion bombardment is reduced from 5.1 nm at surface normal incidence to 0.5 nm at the incident angle of 80°. The maximum atomic concentration of implanted Ar atoms after 1 keV ion bombardment is about 10.5 at% at the depth of 2.5 nm at surface normal incidence and about 2.0 at% at the depth of 1.2 nm at the incident angle of 80°. However, after 0.5 keV ion bombardments, it is 8.0 at% at the depth of 2.0 nm for surface normal incidence and the in-depth Ar distribution cannot be observable at the incident angle of 80°. MD simulation reproduced the damage distribution quantitatively.     

Measurement of the sputter yield after mild ion erosion of a pristine Cu(001) surface

Using the STM technique we have determined the sputter yield on a pristine Cu(001) surface after mild (fluence less than 0.044 ions per surface atom) bombardment of the pristine surface with 800 eV Ar⁺ions at normal incidence. The experiments have been performed at substrate temperatures ranging from 200 to 350 K. Making use of the positional correlation of adatoms and surface vacancies, at 200 K and 325 K, we concluded that about 1/3 of the surface adatoms originate from interstitials arriving at the surface and they give a direct indication of the buried bulk vacancies. A careful analysis of the different areas for surface vacancies and adatom then allowed a quantitative evaluation of the sputter yield at 1.2 Cu atoms per 800 eV Ar⁺ ion.     

Ion survival probabilities for 3 keV He+, Ne+, and Ar+ scattering from La and adsorbate covered La surfaces

TOF spectra of scattered neutrals and ions for 3 keV He⁺, Ne⁺, and Ar⁺ bombardment of La and adsorbate covered La surfaces show that the scattered ion fractions are 21.1% and 10.7% for Ar⁺ on clean and adsorbate covered La, respectively, and < 1% for all of the other systems. These results are consistent with a model in which Auger and resonant neutralization (AN and RN) transitions govern the ion survival probability.     

Ion beam induced reaction of carbon films on Si(1 0 0)

The irradiation effects of 2 MeV He⁺ and Ar⁺ ions on the film structure of the C–Si system were investigated with RHEED and XPS. The formation of SiC phase and/or the growth of epitaxial SiC were possible by He⁺ irradiation for the carbon films up to 0.7 nm in thickness, which was thinner than that by Ar⁺ irradiation. The He⁺ irradiation could not grow the turbostratic graphite which could be grown by Ar⁺ irradiation. The mechanism of the formation and the epitaxial growth of SiC by ion irradiation was discussed from the view point of the energy transfer from the irradiated ions.     

Ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy of nano In clusters Schottky barriers on sputtered InP

Plasmon peaks along with Auger P_LVV peak have been observed in the ultraviolet photoelectron spectra (UPSs) of InP after 5 min of sputtering with 0.5 kV Ar⁺ ions. Plasmon and Auger peaks are not observed in UPS of un-sputtered InP surface with native oxides of In and P. Filled electron energy levels are not observed near the Fermi level from 5 min sputtered InP surface due to increase of ionization potential of nano In clusters.     

Study on the orientation of silver films by ion-beam assisted deposition

Low energy ion beam assisted deposition (IBAD) was employed to prepare Ag films on Mo/Si (100) substrate. It was found that Ag films deposited by sputtering method without ion beam bombardment were preferred (111) orientation. When the depositing film was simultaneously bombardment by Ar⁺ beam perpendicular to the film surface at ion/atom arrival ratio of 0.18, the prepared films exhibited weak (111) and (200) mixed orientations. When the direction of Ar⁺ beam was off-normal direction of the film surface, Ag films showed highly preferred (111) orientation. Monte Carlo method was used to calculate the sputtering yields of Ar⁺ ions at various incident and azimuth angles. The effects of channeling and surface free energy on the crystallographic orientation of Ag films were discussed.     

Electron emission features of the derivatives of radiation carbonization of poly(vinylidene fluoride)

It has been studied how photoelectron and CKVV spectra of partially crystalline poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) are modified during a long-term degradation of its surface under soft X-rays (AlK _α), which is accompanied by a flow of secondary electrons having different energies, and upon exposure to a unfocused beam of 600 eV Ar⁺ ions. In both cases, the surface layer of the sample is enriched with carbon owing to defluorination. The shape of the electron emission spectra of the carbonized layer depends on an external effect; that is, whether soft X-ray photons or ions are used for defluorination. In the case of bombardment with Ar⁺, there is clear evidence for the dominance of the sp2 bonds between carbon atoms, as can be seen from the specific shape of the C KVV band and the C1s spectrum. The most surprising result of this study is that both photons and ions produce the same depth gradient of residual fluorine at an equal fluorine concentration in the carbonized surface layer. The reason for this is not clear and needs further investigation.