Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Mo, Sherry, Byrne, Dana O., Allen, Frances I.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2410.04953
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866910637255294976
author Mo, Sherry
Byrne, Dana O.
Allen, Frances I.
author_facet Mo, Sherry
Byrne, Dana O.
Allen, Frances I.
contents The focused helium ion beam microscope is a versatile imaging and nanofabrication instrument enabling direct-write lithography with sub-10-nm resolution. Subsurface damage and swelling of substrates due to helium ion implantation is generally unwanted. However, these effects can also be leveraged for specific nanofabrication tasks. To explore this, we investigate focused helium ion beam induced swelling of bulk crystalline silicon and free-standing amorphous silicon nitride membranes using various irradiation strategies. We show that the creation of near-surface voids due to helium ion implantation can be used to induce surface nanostructure and create subsurface nanochannels. By tailoring the ion dose and beam energy, the size and depth of the swollen features can be controlled. Swelling heights of several hundred nanometers are demonstrated and for the embedded nanochannels, void internal diameters down to 30nm are shown. Potential applications include the engineering of texturized substrates and the prototyping of on-chip nanofluidic transport devices.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2410_04953
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Focused helium ion beam nanofabrication by near-surface swelling
Mo, Sherry
Byrne, Dana O.
Allen, Frances I.
Applied Physics
Materials Science
The focused helium ion beam microscope is a versatile imaging and nanofabrication instrument enabling direct-write lithography with sub-10-nm resolution. Subsurface damage and swelling of substrates due to helium ion implantation is generally unwanted. However, these effects can also be leveraged for specific nanofabrication tasks. To explore this, we investigate focused helium ion beam induced swelling of bulk crystalline silicon and free-standing amorphous silicon nitride membranes using various irradiation strategies. We show that the creation of near-surface voids due to helium ion implantation can be used to induce surface nanostructure and create subsurface nanochannels. By tailoring the ion dose and beam energy, the size and depth of the swollen features can be controlled. Swelling heights of several hundred nanometers are demonstrated and for the embedded nanochannels, void internal diameters down to 30nm are shown. Potential applications include the engineering of texturized substrates and the prototyping of on-chip nanofluidic transport devices.
title Focused helium ion beam nanofabrication by near-surface swelling
topic Applied Physics
Materials Science
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2410.04953