Digging gold: keV He⁺ ion interaction with Au

• Vasilisa Veligura,
• Gregor Hlawacek,
• Robin P. Berkelaar,
• Raoul van Gastel,
• Harold J. W. Zandvliet and
• Bene Poelsema

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2013, 4, 453–460, doi:10.3762/bjnano.4.53

• dependence on the ion fluence. Simultaneously, helium implantation occurs. Depending on the fluence and primary energy, porous nanostructures or large blisters form on the sample surface. The growth of the helium bubbles responsible for this effect is discussed. Keywords: formation and healing of defects in

• crystals; helium ion microscopy; ion beam/solid interactions; vacancies in crystals; Introduction The helium ion microscope allows the projection of a He+ beam of several tens of kiloelectronvolts with a diameter of 0.4 nm [1] onto a sample. This makes HIM an attractive tool for surface patterning and