Nanostructures on Sapphire Surfaces Induced by Metal Impurity Assisted Ion Beam
The metal impurity assisted ion beam technology has shown its uniqueness and effectiveness in the formation and precise control of nanostructures on the surface of materials. Hence, the investigation in this area is vital. The morphology evolution of self-organized nanostructures induced by Fe co-de...
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doaj-95bada7a808d433e9e7b6c3e427a41422020-11-25T02:35:49ZengMDPI AGCoatings2079-64122020-09-011094994910.3390/coatings10100949Nanostructures on Sapphire Surfaces Induced by Metal Impurity Assisted Ion BeamQian Bi0Zhili Chen1Yuzhao Liu2Li Tang3Yingxue Xi4Weiguo Liu5Shaanxi Province Key Laboratory of Thin Film Technology and Optical Test, School of Photoelectric Engineering, Xi’an Technological University, Xi’an 710021, ChinaShaanxi Province Key Laboratory of Thin Film Technology and Optical Test, School of Photoelectric Engineering, Xi’an Technological University, Xi’an 710021, ChinaShaanxi Province Key Laboratory of Thin Film Technology and Optical Test, School of Photoelectric Engineering, Xi’an Technological University, Xi’an 710021, ChinaShaanxi Province Key Laboratory of Thin Film Technology and Optical Test, School of Photoelectric Engineering, Xi’an Technological University, Xi’an 710021, ChinaShaanxi Province Key Laboratory of Thin Film Technology and Optical Test, School of Photoelectric Engineering, Xi’an Technological University, Xi’an 710021, ChinaShaanxi Province Key Laboratory of Thin Film Technology and Optical Test, School of Photoelectric Engineering, Xi’an Technological University, Xi’an 710021, ChinaThe metal impurity assisted ion beam technology has shown its uniqueness and effectiveness in the formation and precise control of nanostructures on the surface of materials. Hence, the investigation in this area is vital. The morphology evolution of self-organized nanostructures induced by Fe co-deposition assisted Ar<sup>+</sup> ion beam sputtering at a different distance from the impurity target was investigated on sapphire, using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). We also investigated the role of metal impurities on sapphire ripple formation. Experiments were carried out at an oblique angle of incidence 65°with constant ion beam current density 487 μA/cm<sup>2</sup> and the erosion duration of 60 min at room temperature (20 °C). The introduction of Fe impurity increased the longitudinal height and roughness of the surface nanostructures. Moreover, the amounts of Fe deposited on the surface decreased with increasing distance, and the morphology of the smooth sapphire surface demonstrated a strong distance dependence. Differences in surface morphology were attributed to changes in metal impurity concentration. With an increase of impurity target distance, island-like structures gradually evolved into continuous ripples. At the same time, the orderliness of nanostructures was enhanced, the longitudinal height gradually decreased, while the spatial frequency was unchanged. In addition, there were very few metal impurities on the etched sample. During the ion beam sputtering process, island-like structures promoted the growth of ripples but destroyed their orderliness.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6412/10/10/949self-organized nanostructuresurface morphologyroot-mean-square roughness (RMS)sapphireion beamatomic force microscope (AFM) |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Qian Bi Zhili Chen Yuzhao Liu Li Tang Yingxue Xi Weiguo Liu |
spellingShingle |
Qian Bi Zhili Chen Yuzhao Liu Li Tang Yingxue Xi Weiguo Liu Nanostructures on Sapphire Surfaces Induced by Metal Impurity Assisted Ion Beam Coatings self-organized nanostructure surface morphology root-mean-square roughness (RMS) sapphire ion beam atomic force microscope (AFM) |
author_facet |
Qian Bi Zhili Chen Yuzhao Liu Li Tang Yingxue Xi Weiguo Liu |
author_sort |
Qian Bi |
title |
Nanostructures on Sapphire Surfaces Induced by Metal Impurity Assisted Ion Beam |
title_short |
Nanostructures on Sapphire Surfaces Induced by Metal Impurity Assisted Ion Beam |
title_full |
Nanostructures on Sapphire Surfaces Induced by Metal Impurity Assisted Ion Beam |
title_fullStr |
Nanostructures on Sapphire Surfaces Induced by Metal Impurity Assisted Ion Beam |
title_full_unstemmed |
Nanostructures on Sapphire Surfaces Induced by Metal Impurity Assisted Ion Beam |
title_sort |
nanostructures on sapphire surfaces induced by metal impurity assisted ion beam |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Coatings |
issn |
2079-6412 |
publishDate |
2020-09-01 |
description |
The metal impurity assisted ion beam technology has shown its uniqueness and effectiveness in the formation and precise control of nanostructures on the surface of materials. Hence, the investigation in this area is vital. The morphology evolution of self-organized nanostructures induced by Fe co-deposition assisted Ar<sup>+</sup> ion beam sputtering at a different distance from the impurity target was investigated on sapphire, using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). We also investigated the role of metal impurities on sapphire ripple formation. Experiments were carried out at an oblique angle of incidence 65°with constant ion beam current density 487 μA/cm<sup>2</sup> and the erosion duration of 60 min at room temperature (20 °C). The introduction of Fe impurity increased the longitudinal height and roughness of the surface nanostructures. Moreover, the amounts of Fe deposited on the surface decreased with increasing distance, and the morphology of the smooth sapphire surface demonstrated a strong distance dependence. Differences in surface morphology were attributed to changes in metal impurity concentration. With an increase of impurity target distance, island-like structures gradually evolved into continuous ripples. At the same time, the orderliness of nanostructures was enhanced, the longitudinal height gradually decreased, while the spatial frequency was unchanged. In addition, there were very few metal impurities on the etched sample. During the ion beam sputtering process, island-like structures promoted the growth of ripples but destroyed their orderliness. |
topic |
self-organized nanostructure surface morphology root-mean-square roughness (RMS) sapphire ion beam atomic force microscope (AFM) |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6412/10/10/949 |
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