Ion Beam Synthesis and Processing of Nanostructures

An overview of our recent research on ion beam synthesis and processing of nanostructures will be presented. Predictions of atomistic simulations on reaction pathways of nanostructure formation and processing will be compared with experimental results. (i) delta-layers of nanoclusters were formed by ion beam mixing and phase separation at interfaces. In an industrial environment, these delta-layers have been proven to be good candidates as distributed charge storage centers in future FLASH memories. (ii) Nanowires formed by focussed ion implantation and other techniques can be processed into nanocluster chains and other functional structures for electronics and photonics. (iii) Metallic nanospheres can be shaped by swift heavy ions into rods and wires, which may have interesting applications in photonics.