Nanostructures by Phase Separation in Ion-Irradiated Materials

We aim at a deeper understanding of how thermodynamic systems that have been driven far-from-equilibrium by ion implantation or irradiation may either relax towards equilibrium (in which case self-organisation phenomena are observed frequently), or - alternatively - be driven into stationary nonequilibrium states (where dissipative structures may develop). The far-from-equilibrium states having a high supersaturation and/or specific interface energy relax by nucleation, growth and coarsening. The stationary states are driven by irradiation damage (dpa/sec) and shows new phenomena like inverse Ostwald ripening. Kinetic 3D lattice Monte Carlo simulations were applied succesfully to predict routes of far-from-equilibrium processing of tailored quantum dots and wires for electronic and photonic applications.