Formation of Dendritic Structures of Silver under Electron Beam Irradiation

Dendritic structures of silver formed after irradiation of ~50 nm thick silver films deposited on quartz substrates by magnetron sputtering in an Ar atmosphere with a focused electron beam. The growth of dendritic structures was described using the Witten–Sander model, known as diffusion-limited aggregation. The chemical composition of the dendrites was studied by X-ray spectral microanalysis, their growth rate was evaluated, and possible growth mechanisms under electron beam irradiation were considered. The resulting dendritic structures were examined by electron microscopy, and their fractal characteristics (fractal dimension, lacunarity) were calculated from these data, consistent with a diffusion-limited growth mechanism.