Ion beam irradiation of nanostructures: sputtering, dopant incorporation, and dynamic annealing

Nanostructured materials are today subject to intense research, as their mesoscopic properties will enable a variety of new applications in the future. They can be grown with specific properties under equilibrium conditions by a variety of different top-down and bottom-up synthesis techniques. Subsequent modification, including doping or alloying using the highly non-equilibrium process of ion irradiation, significantly expands the potpourri of functionality of what is today an important material class. Important and newly discovered effects must be considered compared to ion irradiation of bulk or thin film counterparts, as the ion range becomes comparable to the size of the nanotructure. Here, we will review recent high fluence irradiation studies reporting on non-linear incorporation of implanted species, enhanced sputtering yields, morphological changes induced by the high thermal impact, as well as strongly enhanced dynamic annealing for such confined nanostructures. Our review will also include the concurrent and recent progress in developing new simulation tools in order to describe and quantify those newly observed effects.