Impurity in low energy Ar+ ion beam is the cause of pattern formation on Si

TL;DR

Reactive impurities in low energy Ar+ ion beams cause surface pattern formation on silicon, with impurities like nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon inducing chemical instability that leads to ripple patterns, unlike pure Ar+ beams.

Contribution

This study identifies impurities as the key factor in pattern formation during low energy Ar+ ion irradiation of silicon, clarifying previous inconsistencies.

Findings

Impure Ar+ beams produce well-defined ripple patterns on Si surface.

Pure Ar+ beams do not produce such patterns under similar conditions.

Reactive impurities induce chemical instability leading to pattern formation.

Abstract

We report the decisive role of reactive ion impurities in low energy Ar+ ion beam on surface nanopattern formation. The source of experimental inconsistency in pattern formation by low energy (few keV to 10's of KeV) Ar+ ion beam has been identified by irradiating Si surface at an oblique angle with pure and impure Ar+ ion beam of energy 3-10 keV. No well-defined patterns are observed for mass selected pure Ar+ ion bombardment, whereas well defined periodic ripple pattern is formed by the same experimental condition with impure mass unanalyzed Ar+ ion irradiation. The contaminants in mass unanalyzed beam specifically reactive nitrogen, oxygen and carbon play the main role of pattern formation by introducing chemical instability on the Si surface. The surface morphology of the irradiated Si surfaces is examined by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). The surface contamination and corresponding chemical compound formation are investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS).