Kinetic electron emission from solid surfaces under ion bombardment

Modeling the point-spread function in helium-ion lithography

We present here a hybrid approach to modeling helium-ion lithography that combines the power and ease-of-use of the Stopping and Range of Ions in Matter (SRIM) software with the results of recent work simulating secondary electron (SE) yield in helium-ion microscopy. This approach traces along SRIM-produced helium-ion trajectories, generating and simulating trajectories for SEs using a Monte Carlo method. We found, both through simulation and experiment, that the spatial distribution of energy deposition in a resist as a function of radial distance from beam incidence, i.e. the point spread function, is not simply a sum of Gauss functions.

Single ion induced surface nanostructures: a comparison between slow highly charged and swift heavy ions

This topical review focuses on recent advances in the understanding of the formation of surface nanostructures, an intriguing phenomenon in ion-surface interaction due to the impact of individual ions. In many solid targets, swift heavy ions produce narrow cylindrical tracks accompanied by the formation of a surface nanostructure. More recently, a similar nanometric surface effect has been revealed for the impact of individual, very slow but highly charged ions. While swift ions transfer their large kinetic energy to the target via ionization and electronic excitation processes (electronic stopping), slow highly charged ions produce surface structures due to potential energy deposited at the top surface layers. Despite the differences in primary excitation, the similarity between the nanostructures is striking and strongly points to a common mechanism related to the energy transfer from the electronic to the lattice system of the target. A comparison of surface structures induced by swift heavy ions and slow highly charged ions provides a valuable insight to better understand the formation mechanisms.