2 MeV Argon (Ar+) ion induced nano-fabrication in GaSb epi-layers on GaAs substrates. (September 2020) - Kumar, Satish
Abstract: 2 MeV Argon (Ar + ) ion irradiation in the fluence range of 1 × 10 16 to 5 × 10 16 ions/cm 2 at normal incidence results in formation of a mesoporous layer with interconnected nanofiber structures underneath a thin continuous layer in molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) grown GaSb layers on GaAs substrates. Ion irradiation in the fluence range of 1 × 10 12 to 1 × 10 15 ions/cm 2 resulted in no change in the layer morphology. The structural modification in the epi-layers follows the trend observed in Ar + -ion irradiated GaSb epi-layers at keV range energies reported earlier by us and is explained using a simulation of ion-matter interaction at different energies. Raman spectroscopy and high resolution X-ray diffraction (HRXRD) results from the 2 MeV ion irradiated samples suggest preservation of crystallinity in the irradiated layers till the ion fluence of 1 × 10 15 ions/cm 2 and an increasing residual stress with increasing ion fluence. Highlights: 2 MeV Argon (Ar + ) ion irradiation in the fluence range 1 × 10 12 to 5 × 10 16 ions/cm 2 on GaSb epilayers. No morphological change for ion fluences lower than 1 × 10 16 ions/cm 2 . Mesoporous with interconnected nanofibrous structures underneath a thin layer for higher ion fluences. Preservation of crystallinity of irradiated layers till the ion fluence of 1 × 10 15 ions/cm 2 . Increasing residual stress with increasing ion fluence.