Topography evolution of Si (001) substrate fabricated by Ar+ ion beam sputter etching

Abstract

Self-formed nanopatterns on Si (001) substrates fabricated by ion beam sputter etching were investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The ion beam sputtering was performed with an Ar+ ion beam produced from a Kaufman type ion gun. In order to fabricate the periodic nanoscale patterns on Si surface, the effects of sputter parameters such as ion energy, flux, incident angle and etching time on surface morphology was investigated. As a result, nanometer scale ripples and 3-dimensioal nanodots were formed uniformly after ion beam sputtering. The surface morphology of Si was significantly dependent on incident angle and ion beam flux.