Periodic pattern induced by low energy ion irradiation

The morphology of surfaces after irradiation with low en- ergy ions (E < 50 keV) exhibits a variety of character- istics depending on the ion beam parameters and the ma- terial properties. Surfaces exposed to the ion beam can turn atomically smooth, stochastically or self-affine rough, or can evolve towards regular self-organised patterns. The structure size of these patterns is in the range of 10 to 100 nm and occasionally a high degree of ordering is achieved. Therefore, they have attracted interest recently as templates for nanostructured thin films or for structuring films by an erosive process [1].