Angular spectra of rainbow scattering at glancing keV He bombardment of NiAl(1 0 0) surface with transverse energies in the range 1-10 eV

Previous simulations of glancing incidence ion-surface interaction have demonstrated that classical dynamics using the row-model have successfully reproduced multimodal azimuthal and polar spectra. These studies have also shown considerable sensitivity to the form of the interatomic potential thus making it a strong test of the validity of such potentials and even allow deduction of the ion-surface potentials. In these simulations the individual pairwise interactions between the projectile and the target atoms have been replaced by cylindrical potentials.Comparison to numerous experimental studies have confirmed the existence of rainbow scattering phenomena and successfully tested the validity of the cylindrical potential used in these simulations. The use of cylindrical potentials avoids stochastic effects due to thermal displacements and allows faster computer simulations leading to reliable angular distributions.In the present work we extend the row-model to consider scattering from binary alloys. Using He⁺ scattered at glancing incidence from NiAl surfaces, Al or Ni terminated, a faster method has been developed to easily and accurately quantize not only the maximum deflection azimuthal angle but all the singular points in the angular distribution. It has been shown that the influence of the surface termination on the rainbow angle and the inelastic losses is small.     

Growth and surface morphology of ion-beam sputtered Ti-Ni thin films

Titanium-nickel thin films have been deposited on float glass substrates by ion beam sputtering in 100% pure argon atmosphere. Sputtering is predominant at energy region of incident ions, 1000 eV to 100 keV. The as-deposited films were investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and atomic force microscope (AFM). In this paper we attempted to study the surface morphology and elemental composition through AFM and XPS, respectively. Core level as well as valence band spectra of ion-beam sputtered Ti-Ni thin films at various Ar gas rates (5, 7 and 12 sccm) show that the thin film deposited at 3 sccm possess two distinct peaks at binding energies 458.55 eV and 464.36 eV mainly due to TiO₂. Upon increasing Ar rate oxidation of Ti-Ni is reduced and the Ti-2p peaks begin approaching those of pure elemental Ti. Here Ti-2p peaks are observed at binding energy positions of 454.7 eV and 460.5 eV. AFM results show that the average grain size and roughness decrease, upon increasing Ar gas rate, from 2.90 μm to 0.096 μm and from 16.285 nm to 1.169 nm, respectively.     

The influence of projectile charge state on ionization probabilities of sputtered atoms

The ionization probability of atoms sputtered from a clean polycrystalline metal surface was measured for different charge states of the projectile used to bombard the sample. More specifically, a polycrystalline indium surface was irradiated with Ar⁺ and Ar⁰ beams of energies between 5 and 15 keV, and In⁺ secondary ions and neutral In atoms emitted from the surface were detected under identical experimental conditions regarding the sampled emission angle and energy. The resulting energy integrated ionization probability of sputtered In atoms is consistently found to be smaller for neutral projectiles, the difference decreasing with decreasing impact energy. The observed trends agree with those measured for kinetic electron emission, indicating that secondary ion formation is at least partly governed by kinetic substrate excitation.     

Sputtering of GaAs under oblique Cs bombardment: A simulation study

Sputtering of GaAs under oblique 2–10 keV Cs ion bombardment is studied by means of computer simulation as applied to the experimental data by Verdeil et al. published recently. Special attention is given to the angular distribution of sputtered atoms in the steady-state limit and to the relevant concentrations of surface Ga and As atoms, S_Ga and S_As, respectively. The best-fit values of S_Ga and S_As found in simulations favor segregation of As. A very pronounced effect of resputtering of atoms deposited on a collector of sputtered matter is noted. For forecasting purposes, the sputtering of GaAs under oblique bombardment with 0.1–1 keV Cs ions is also shortly considered.     

Diffraction of fast atoms under axial surface channeling conditions

For scattering of fast atoms under axial channeling conditions from surfaces diffraction effects have been observed in the distributions for scattered projectiles. Basic features concerning this recently observed new phenomenon in ion/atom surface scattering will be demonstrated for collisions of light atoms with well ordered clean and adsorbate covered surfaces of insulators and metals. We will focus our discussion on the scattering of ³He atoms with keV energies from a LiF(0 0 1) surface along low indexed axial surface channels and deduce the corrugation of the He-LiF(0 0 1) interaction potential from intensity modulations of the diffraction spots. Furthermore, we observe for the first time interference effects also for He⁺ ions which undergo charge exchange during scattering from the surface. The potential of the method for the investigation of structures of surfaces is discussed.     

Incidence-angle dependent Cs incorporation in Si during low-energy bombardment: A dynamic computer simulation study

The implantation of Cs atoms in silicon was investigated by dynamic computer simulations using the Monte-Carlo code T-DYN that takes into account the gradual change of the target composition due to the Cs irradiation. The incorporation of Cs atoms was studied for incidence angles ranging from 0° to 85° and for four impact energies (0.2, 0.5, 1 and 3 keV). The total implantation fluences were (1-2) × 10¹⁷ Cs/cm², well above the values required to reach a stationary state. The steady-state Cs surface concentrations exhibit a pronounced dependence on impact angle and energy. At normal incidence, they vary between ∼0.57 (at 0.2 keV) and ∼0.18 (3 keV), but decrease with increasing incidence angle. Under equilibrium, the partial sputtering yield of Si exhibits the typical dependence on incidence angle, first increasing up to a maximum value (at ∼70°-75°) and declining sharply for larger angles. For all irradiation conditions a strongly preferential sputtering of Cs as compared to Si atoms is found, increasing with decreasing irradiation energy (from 4.6 at 3 keV to 7.2 at 0.2 keV) and for nearer-normal incidence.     

PIXE-PIGE analysis of Carolingian period glass from Slovenia

Glass artifacts excavated from the Late Roman and Carolingian period site at Bašelj Slovenia were analyzed by the combined PIXE-PIGE method using a proton beam in air. The results show that the majority of objects and glass ingots were made of traditional Roman, natron-type glass. Increased titanium and other impurities were found indicating that the glass had been recycled several times. As the composition of the ingots was similar to the other objects, a possibility exists of a secondary glass workshop in the local vicinity. The typologically and stratigraphically dated objects confirm that the Roman glassmaking continued in the area of Eastern Alps well into the 9th century.     

Analysis of Venetian-type glass fragments from the ancient city of Lezha (Albania)

A series of glasses excavated in the Albanian city of Lezha (ancient Lissos) were analyzed by the combined PIXE-PIGE method in air and by source-excited XRF. The analysis revealed two types of glass that can be identified as façon de Venise glass and its subsequent younger phase, produced by chemically purer components and using As₂O₃ as decolorant.     

On the emission of MoCs molecular ions from Cs irradiated molybdenum surface

The present paper deals with the emission of atomic and molecular ions from elemental molybdenum surface under Cs⁺ bombardment to explore the MCs⁺ formation mechanism with changing Cs surface coverage. Integrated count of MoCs⁺ shows a monotonic increase with increasing primary ion energy (1-5 keV). Change in MoCs⁺ intensity is attributed to the variation of surface work function ? and cesium surface concentration c_Cs due to varying impact energies. Variation of c_Cs has been obtained from the expression, c_Cs ∝ 1/(1 + Y) where Y is the elemental sputtering yield estimated from TRIM calculations. Systematic study of the energy distributions of all species emerging from Mo target has been done to measure the changes in surface work function. Changing slopes of the leading parts of Cs⁺ energy distributions suggest a substantial depletion in surface work function ? with decreasing primary ion energies. Δ? shows a linear dependence on c_Cs. The maximum reduction in surface work function Δ?_max = 0.69 eV corresponds to the highest value of c_Cs = 0.5. A phenomenological model, based on the linear dependence of ? on c_Cs, has been employed to explain the MoCs⁺ data.     

The morphology and structure of one-dimensional carbon-carbon composite under high-fluence ion irradiation

The temperature dependences of the ion-induced electron emission yield γ(T), the crystal structure, and the morphology of a surface layer of the one-dimensional carbon fiber composite KUP-VM (1D) under high-fluence (10¹⁸-10¹⁹ ion/cm²) irradiation with 30 keV ions at normal incidence both perpendicular and parallel to the fiber directions have been studied. The target temperature has been varied during continuous irradiation from T = −180 to 400 °C. The surface analysis has been performed by the RHEED, SEM and RBS techniques. The surface microgeometry was studied using laser goniophotometry (LGP). It has been found that ion irradiation results in a loss of anisotropy of the surface layer structure because of amorphization at room temperature or recrystallization at a temperature higher than the ion-induced annealing temperature. The fiber morphology anisotropy remains under ion irradiation.     

Angular distribution of sputtered atoms induced by low-energy heavy ion bombardment

The sputtering yield angular distributions have been calculated based on the ion energy dependence of tohal sputtering yields for Ni and Mo targets bombarded by low-energy Hg^ ion. The calculated curves show excellent agreement with the corresponding Wehner‘s experimental results of sputtering yield angular distribution. The fact clearly demonstrated the intrinsic relation between the ion energy dependence of total sputtering yields and the sputtering yield angular distribution. This intrinsic relation had been ignored in Yamamura‘s papers (1981,1982) due to some obvious mistakes.     

Temperature-dependent surface modification of InSb(0 0 1) crystal by low-energy ion bombardment

Structural and compositional modification of InSb(0 0 1) single crystal surfaces induced by oblique incidence 2-5 keV Ar and Xe ion irradiation have been investigated by means of scanning tunneling and atomic force microscopies, and time-of-flight mass spectroscopy of secondary ion emission. In general, ion-induced patterns (networks of nanowires, or ripples) are angle of incidence- and fluence-dependent. Temperature dependences (from 300 to 600 K) of the RMS roughness and of the ripple wavelength have been determined for the samples bombarded with various fluences. Secondary ion emission from an InSb(0 0 1) surface exposed to 4.5 keV Ar⁺ ions has been investigated with a linear TOF spectrometer working in a static mode. Mass spectra of the sputtered In⁺, Sb⁺ and In₂⁺ secondary ions have been measured both for the non-bombarded (0 0 1) surface and for the surface previously exposed to a fluence of 10¹⁶ ions/cm². In⁺ and In₂⁺ intensities for the irradiated sample are much higher in comparison to the non-bombarded one, whereas Sb⁺ ions show a reversed tendency. This behavior suggests a significant In-enrichment at the InSb(0 0 1) surface caused by the ion bombardment.     

Molecular dynamics simulations to explore the effect of chemical bonding in the keV bombardment of Si with C60, Ne60 and Ne60 projectiles

Depth profiling experiments using secondary ion spectrometry (SIMS) have shown effects that are characteristic to the pairing of the projectile with a Si target. Previous molecular dynamics simulations demonstrate that this unusual behavior is due to the fact that strong covalent bonds are formed between the C atoms in the projectile and the Si atoms in the target, which result in the implantation of carbon into the solid. The focus of this paper is to understand how the formation of chemical bonds affects the net sputtered yield. The results of molecular dynamics simulations of the keV bombardment of Si with C₆₀, Ne₆₀ and ¹²Ne₆₀ at normal incidence are compared over a range of incident kinetic energies from 5 to 20 keV. The net yields with Ne₆₀ and ¹²Ne₆₀ are significantly greater than with C₆₀ at all incident kinetic energies, with ¹²Ne₆₀ having the largest values. Application of the mesoscale energy deposition footprint (MEDF) model shows that the initial deposition of energy into the substrate is similar with all three projectiles. Snapshots of the initial pathway of the projectile atoms through the substrate show a similar lateral and vertical distribution that is centered in the region of the energy footprint. Therefore, the reason for the reduced yield with C₆₀ is that the C atoms form bonds with the Si atoms, which causes them to remain in the substrate instead of being sputtered.     

Study of density effect of large gas cluster impact by molecular dynamics simulations

Large gas cluster impacts cause unique surface modification effects because a large number of target atoms are moved simultaneously due to high-density particle collisions between cluster and surface atoms. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of large gas cluster impacts on solid targets were carried out in order to investigate the effect of high-density irradiation with a cluster ion beam from the viewpoint of crater formation and sputtering. An Ar cluster with the size of 2000 was accelerated with 20 keV (10 eV for each constituent atom) and irradiated on a Si(1 0 0) solid target consisting of 2 000 000 atoms. The radius of the Ar cluster was scaled by ranging from 2.3 nm (corresponding to the solid state of Ar) to 9.2 nm (64× lower density than solid state). When the Ar cluster was as dense as solid state, the incident cluster penetrated the target surface and generated crater-like damage. On the other hand, as the cluster radius increased and the irradiation particle density decreased, the depth of crater caused by cluster impact was reduced. MD results also revealed that crater depth was mainly dominated by the horizontal scaling rather than vertical scaling. A high sputtering yield of more than several tens of Si atoms per impact was observed with clusters of 4-20× lower volume density than solid state.     

Monte Carlo study of ion-induced secondary electron emission from SiO2

Here we describe a recently developed direct Monte Carlo program to study kinetic electron emission from SiO₂ target. The program includes excitation of the target electrons (by projectile ions, recoiling target atoms and fast primary electrons), subsequent transport and escape of these electrons from the target surface. The program can be used to calculate the electron yields, distribution of electron excitation points in the target and other physical parameters of the emitted electrons. In order to demonstrate the capabilities of this program, we report a study on the kinetic electron emission from SiO₂ induced by fast (1-10 keV) rare gas ions. The calculated kinetic electron yield for various ion energies and masses is in good agreement with the predictions of most frequently applied theoretical model. In addition, the effects of projectile energy, mass and impact angle on the depth distribution of electron excitation points and average escape depth of the outgoing electrons were investigated. It is important to mention that the existing experimental techniques are not capable to measure these parameters.     

Comparison of secondary electron emission in helium ion microscope with gallium ion and electron microscopes

To evaluate secondary electron (SE) image characteristics in helium ion microscope, Si surfaces with a rod and step structures is scanned by 30 keV He and Ga ion beams and 1 keV electron beam. The topographic sensitivity of He ions is in principle higher than that for scanning electron microscope (SEM) because of the stronger dependency of SE yield versus incident angle for He ions. As shrinking to sub nm patterns, the pseudo-images constructed from line profile of SE intensity by the electron beam lose their sharpness, however, the images for the He and Ga ion beams keep clearness due to darkening the bottom corners of the pattern. Here, the sputter erosion for Ga ions must be considered. Furthermore, trajectories of emitted SEs are simulated for a rectangular Al surface scanned by the beams to study voltage contrast, where positive and negative voltages are applied to the small area of the sample. Both less high energy component in the energy distribution of SEs and dominant contribution of direct SE excitation by a projectile He ion keep a high voltage contrast down to a sub nm sized area positively biased against the zero-potential surroundings.     

Monte Carlo study of ion-induced backward and forward secondary electron emission from thin Al foil

A direct Monte Carlo program has been developed to calculate the backward (γ_b) and forward (γ_f) electron emission yields from 20 nm thick Al foil for impact of C⁺, Al⁺, Ar⁺, Cu⁺ and Kr⁺ ions having energies in the range of 0.1-10 keV/amu. The program incorporates the excitation of target electrons by projectile ions, recoiling target atoms and fast primary electrons. The program can be used to calculate the electron yields, distribution of electron excitation points in the target and other physical parameters of the emitted electrons. The calculated backward electron emission yield and the Meckbach factor R = γ_f/γ_b are compared with the available experimental data, and a good agreement is found. In addition, the effect of projectile energy and mass on the longitudinal and lateral distribution of the excitation points of the electrons emitted from front and back of Al target has been investigated.     

Segregation of atoms in NixPdy alloys during ion irradiation

Sputtering of Ni₅Pd and NiPd₅ alloys by 10 keV Ar ions has been studied using the binary-collision simulation. Special attention was given to the angular distributions of sputtered atoms at the steady-state conditions. The results of simulations were compared with the experimental data published recently. For both targets, the concentrations of Ni and Pd atoms in the top monolayer were extracted from the experimental data. The results of simulations favor segregation of Pd in Ni₅Pd and segregation of Ni in NiPd₅. The total concentration of surface vacancies was found to be about 10-30%.     

Effects of ion beam treatment on atomic and macroscopic adhesion of copper to different polymer materials

Low-energy ion irradiation of polymer induces different phenomena in the near surface layer, which effect strongly the metal-polymer interface formation and promotes adhesion of polymers to metals. Low-energy argon and oxygen ion beams were used to alter the chemical and physical properties of different polymers (PS (polystyrene), PαMS (poly(α-methylstyrene), BPA-PC (bisphenol-A-polycarbonate) and PMMA (poly(methyl methacrylate)), in order to understand the adhesion phenomena between a deposited Cu layer and the polymers. The resulting changes were investigated by various techniques including X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, measurements of the metal condensation coefficient and a new technique to measure cross-linking at the polymer surface. Two types of practical adhesion strengths of Cu-polymer systems, measured using 90° peel tests, were observed: (i) peel strength increased at low ion fluences, reached a maximum and then decreased after prolonged treatment and (ii) no improvement in the peel strength on treated polymer surfaces was recorded. The improvement in the metal-polymer adhesion in the ion fluence range of 10¹³-10¹⁵ cm⁻² is attributed to the creation of a large density of new adsorption sites resulting in a larger contact area and incorporation of chemically active groups that lead to increased interaction between metal and polymer by metal-oxygen-polymer species formation. XPS analysis of peeled-off surfaces showed that in most cases the failure location changed from interfacial for untreated polymers to cohesive failure in the polymer for treated surfaces. These observations and measurements of the metal condensation coefficients suggest that bonding is improved at the metal-polymer interface for all metal-polymer systems. However, the decrease in the peel strength at high ion fluences is attributed to the formation of a weak boundary layer in polymers. The correlation between sputter rate of polymers and altering in the peel strength for moderate ion fluences was determined. It was observed that the metal-polymer adhesion could be improved for PS and BPA-PC, which have a low sputter rate and preferentially formed cross-links in the treated surface. For degrading polymers, like PαMS and PMMA, chain scission rather than cross-linking dominates, low molecular weight species are formed and no adhesion enhancement is observed.