Modelling of Optical Damage in Nanorippled ZnO Produced by Ion Irradiation

Here, we report on the production of nanoripples on the surface of ZnO bulk substrates by ion beam erosion with 20 keV Ar+ ions at an oblique incidence (60°). The ripple patterns, analyzed by atomic force microscopy, follow a power law dependence for both the roughness and the wavelength. At high fl...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Redondo-Cubero, Andrés, Vázquez Burgos, Luis, Jalabert, Denis, Lorenz, Katharina, Ben Sedrine, Nebiha
Format: article
Status:Published version
Publication Date:2019
Country:España
Institution:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repository:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/191354
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/191354
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:ZnO
Patterning
Sputtering
Spectroscopic ellipsometry
Ripples
Damage
Description
Summary:Here, we report on the production of nanoripples on the surface of ZnO bulk substrates by ion beam erosion with 20 keV Ar+ ions at an oblique incidence (60°). The ripple patterns, analyzed by atomic force microscopy, follow a power law dependence for both the roughness and the wavelength. At high fluences these ripples show coarsening and asymmetric shapes, which become independent of the beam direction and evidence additional mechanisms for the pattern development. The shallow damaged layer is not fully amorphized by this process, as confirmed by medium energy ion scattering. A detailed study of the damage-induced changes on the optical properties was carried out by means of spectroscopic ellipsometry. Using a 3-layer model based on Tauc-Lorenz and critical point parameter band oscillators, the optical constants of the damaged layer were determined. The results showed a progressive reduction in the refractive index and enhanced absorption below the bandgap with the fluence.