Hydrogen Plasma Inhibits Ion Beam Restructuring of GaP

Focused ion beam (FIB) techniques are employed widely for nanofabrication and processing of materials and devices. However, ion irradiation often gives rise to severe damage due to atomic displacements that cause defect formation, migration, and clustering within the ion-solid interaction volume. The resulting restructuring degrades the functionality of materials and limits the utility of FIB ablation and nanofabrication techniques. Here we show that such restructuring can be inhibited by performing FIB irradiation in a hydrogen plasma environment via chemical pathways that modify defect binding energies and transport kinetics, as well as material ablation rates. The method is minimally invasive and has the potential to greatly expand the utility of FIB nanofabrication techniques in processing functional materials and devices.

The stabilization of gallane and indane by a ring expanded carbene

7Dipp Complexes of the group 13 binary hydrides GaH3 and InH3 have been prepared. Both adducts possess excellent thermal stability in the solid state but decompose readily in solution at ambient temperature. The presence of short M-H···H-CAlkyl distances in the structures of both [MH3(7Dipp)] complexes is discussed.