Design and capabilities of a cluster implantation and deposition apparatus: First results on hillock formation under energetic cluster ion bombardment

A description, advantages, and capabilities of a cluster implantation and deposition apparatus supplied by a pulsed cluster source from gaseous precursors are presented. A number of possible in situ and ex situ experimental methods to study cluster-surface collisions and modified substrate surfaces are discussed. Test experiments on cluster production show formation of Ar, N-2, and O-2 clusters with size up to 150 atoms for Ar and 60-70 molecules for the other gases. The possibility of cluster mass selection and acceleration up to 25 keV is reported. Nanosize hillock formation was found as a result of cluster-surface collisions with pyrolytic graphite and indium-tin-oxide. It is suggested that the hillocks' parameters such as size and density per surface area can be controlled by varying the implantation parameters and substrate material and thus provide a promising technique for nanoscale surface modification. (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics.