Modeling Growth and Plasma Oxygen Effects on Metal Purity in Platinum EBID

TL;DR

This paper models how growth parameters and plasma oxygen treatment influence platinum purity in EBID nanostructures, providing a framework for optimizing fabrication and post-processing to reduce carbon contamination.

Contribution

It introduces a hindered exponential growth model linking EBID parameters to deposit composition and demonstrates plasma oxygen treatment to improve metal purity.

Findings

Plasma oxygen treatment increases platinum content in deposits.

Growth model correlates fabrication conditions with composition.

SEM shows nanostructure shrinkage due to carbon removal.

Abstract

Electron Beam-Induced Deposition (EBID) enables site-specific nanofabrication but suffers from significant carbon contamination, limiting its applicability in plasmonics, nanoelectronics, and sensing. In this study, we investigate the relationship between EBID process parameters such as beam current, acceleration voltage, and dwell time, and the platinum-to-carbon composition of deposited nanostructures. Using Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (EDX), we establish a hindered exponential growth model that correlates deposit composition with fabrication conditions. To enhance metal purity, we apply plasma oxygen treatment, exposing EBID deposits to a 30 W plasma for 30 minutes in a tabletop plasma generator. Post-treatment EDX analysis confirms a systematic increase in platinum content, while SEM inspection reveals nanostructure shrinkage due to carbon removal. This work aims to provide a framework for optimizing EBID fabrication and post-processing strategies to enhance material performance.