Compositionally modulated ripples during composite film growth: three-dimensional pattern formation at the nanoscale

Three-dimensional, ion-induced nano-scale pattern formation in the growth mode is studied for a bi-component thin film. C:Ni films were grown by dual ion beam co-sputtering applying an assisting oblique incidence low energy Ar⁺ ion beam. Their microstructure was determined by scanning electron, atomic force, and transmission electron microscopy, as well as by grazing incidence small angle X-ray scattering. The role of ion-induced collisional effects was investigated by binary collision computer simulations. The formation of compositionally modulated ripples on the C:Ni film surface is demonstrated. They consist of metal enriched topographic crests and carbon enriched valleys. Since the surface is constantly covered by incoming species, this pattern is transferred into the bulk as a periodic array of Ni₃C nanoparticles in a carbon matrix. Lateral ripple propagation is shown to be one of the crucial phenomena for the film morphology. The essential experimental features are reproduced by the computer simulations. The results reveal the importance of ion-induced preferential displacements as driving factor for an surface instability, which gives rise to the observed pattern formation. The physical nature of the approach holds potential for the growth of functional nanocomposites with tunable properties independently of the nature of the materials.