Platform for the study of ion implantation, Controlled and Analyzed at the nanoscale – PELIICAEN

We propose an original approach combining known technical methods based on focused ion beam (FIB) and multicharged ion source technologies in order to produce nanosized beams with a larger choice of ion species and implantation depths in comparison with the conventional FIB technique. In addition, the integration of a near-field microscope working either under the atomic force mode or the tunneling mode will allow an on-line visualization of the changes induced by the ion beams on the sample surface even at low ion fluences. We will also include to this system an electronic imaging device consisting of a detector and a column of focused electron beam. With all these in situ characterization tools, we will be able to follow in real time the changes induced by the interaction of the ions with the material.

The PELIICAEN project allows the development of a prototype within a partnership between research and industry. To demonstrate the performance of this tool, the first experiments are planned to nano-structure surfaces. They are, for instance, designed to generate and characterize an ordered network of hillocks having a regular size below 500 nm with a spacing less than 700 nm on graphite samples using a xenon ion beam.

The PELIICAEN equipment, by proposing to develop an ion nano-beam with a wide choice of ion species combined with on-line nano-characterization techniques, will become an efficient tool well suited for the manufacture and characterization of innovative materials in many areas of nanoscience and nanotechnology. By integrating a near-field microscope of the AFM/STM type, we will possess an evolving tool which can characterize in near real-time various physical and chemical properties of the sample surface by just choosing the appropriate near field well adapted to the (magnetic, optical, electrical, …) property of interest. The PELIICAEN equipment will eventually become a facility dedicated to assist scientific and industrial programs related to the nanostructuring of surfaces.

Several publications and patents are envisaged on the production and control of nanosized ion beams. Additional scientific publications and patents will also be possible on the results generated by such a tool.

The aim of the PELIICAEN project is to develop an innovative experimental set-up allowing creation, modification and analysis of nano-structures and their controlled 3-D doping.
Localised ion implantation is essential for research and development in nano-science and nano-technology. It is widely used in micro-electronics, nano-photonics, spin-tronics and the engineering of the nano-materials because it allows a precise modification of their electrical, optical, magnetic and chemical properties of materials at the nano-metric scale. In comparison to mask techniques for localised implantation, the FIB technology appears to be the most promising technique owing to its great versatility.
The advent of LMIS Gallium sources was the starting point of the success of the FIB technology, which has enormously contributed to the spectacular progress in the fields of nano-science and nano-technology. This technology is widely used for the creation and analysis of nano-components or nano-structured materials. The application of FIB is equally found in research laboratories as well as in the semiconductor industry.
The recent developments in FIB technology were mainly undertaken in order to improve their resolution as well as their current intensity. Nowadays, the state-of-the-art imaging resolution for Ga FIB units, achieved by the Cobra-FIB of Orsay Physics, is better than 2.5 nm. Moreover, the resolution for GFIS sources, due to their atomic scale, can now reach the sub-nanometer scale for He ions. In order to obtain high currents, plasma sources have also been developed. In this field, the state of the art is a mini ECR source coupled with an i-FIB of Orsay Physics which delivers a current of several micro-amperes on the target.
Another area of present FIB development resides in improving the diversity of the accelerated ion species. On the one hand, non-polluting ion beams are developed, e.g. rare gas ions. On the other hand, ion beams from reactive species are studied either for analysis purposes (Cs, O) or to dope and therefore modify locally the electronic properties of the target. Many studies are underway on a large array of different sources (e.g. LMAIS), in order to dope locally the target. However, the choice of the ion species as well as the choice of the implantation depth is still very limited.
We propose in this project a new approach, combining known technologies, based on FIB and ECRIS techniques, to produce focused ion beams with a much larger choice of ion species and implantation technique than presently attainable.
Such a tool will have an enormous impact in the fields of nano-science and nano-technology, because it will offer new possibilities to modify matter at the sub-micron level in the three dimensions. Depending on the used ion species, fluences, energies and type of materials, it will allow:
- to produce three-dimensional grids of regions doped with different species and concentrations;
- to target and modify specific zones in 3-D;
- to modify the atomic structure of irradiates zones by means of defect creation or phase transformation;
- to change locally the chemical composition in order to synthesize new material phases, which are sometimes unattainable by conventional methods.
These techniques can be used in many applications involving the need to implant “any ion at any place”.
The unique partnership between CEA/CIMAP, expert in ion-matter interactions, and Orsay Physics, a French SMB and one of the world leaders for the development and commercialization of FIB/FEB units and secondary emission imagery, presents a big potential to successfully finalize this innovative project, which is eagerly awaited by a large scientific community.