Arbitrarily shaped Si nanostructures by glancing angle ion beam sputter deposition

Using glancing angle deposition by ion beam sputtering, sculptured thin films (STFs) consisting of various Si nanostructures of manyfold shapes, such as inclined and vertical columns, screws, and spirals, were deposited on Si substrates. It will be shown that morphology, shape, and diameter of the structures are influenced and can thus be controlled by adjusting various deposition parameters, including substrate temperature and ratio of substrate rotational speed to film deposition rate. Especially the temperature‐controlled surface diffusion is found to play an important role in the growth of STFs. magnified image Cross‐sectional scanning electron microscopy micrograph of helical Si nanostructures, deposited with ion beam sputter glancing angle deposition.