Nanoscale pattern formation produced by ion bombardment of a rotating target: The decisive role of the ion energy.

Abstract

We study the nanoscale patterns that form on the surface of a rotating sample of an elemental material that is bombarded with a broad noble gas ion beam for angles of incidence θ just above the critical angle for pattern formation θ_{c}. The pattern formation depends crucially on the ion energy E. In simulations carried out in the low-energy regime in which sputtering is negligible, we find disordered arrays of nanoscale mounds (nanodots) that coarsen in time. Disordered arrays of nanodots also form in the high-energy regime in which there is substantial sputtering, but no coarsening occurs close to the threshold angle. Finally, for values of E just above the sputter yield threshold, nanodot arrays with an extraordinary degree of hexagonal order emerge for a range of parameter values, even though there is a broad band of linearly unstable wavelengths. This finding might prove to be useful in applications in which highly ordered nanoscale patterns are needed.