Erosive versus shadowing instabilities in the self-organized ion patterning of polycrystalline metal films

We report on the self-organized patterning of polycrystalline metal films supported on dielectric substrates using defocused Ar⁺ ion-beam sputtering at glancing incidence. The data demonstrate that a nonflat initial surface morphology does plays a critical role in triggering self-organization during the early stages, where the distribution of polycrystalline grains initially imposes a nonstochastic spatial modulation of the ion impact sites. A crossover to the conventional erosive regime observed for single crystals sets in at longer sputtering times. Surprisingly, the vertical and lateral modulation of the pristine surface profile of the nonflat films results in a substantial reduction in the ion dose required for the formation of the nanoscale patterns, in comparison to the case of an initially flat film.