https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1875-4914
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ABSTRACT
Self-organization is a phenomenon that occurs under certain circumstances with different types of materials – liquids, bulk, and thin films, organic, inorganic or hybrid solids. This unique effect appears as an unusual part of various dynamic processes, such as co-deposition of immiscible phases, or due to modifications by external stimuli, such as thermal annealing or laser irradiation. A significant aspect of this effect is a certain level of energy flow, which creates conditions for the onset of a coordinated re-arrangement that leads to the self-organization of materials. Of interest is the stimulus of bombardment by energetic ions, which can lead (i) to radiation damage to the original structure, but (ii) also to constructive effects – the synthesis of materials with new structural forms and novel properties. The manifestation of a constructive ion irradiation stimulus was investigated also in this paper. Ternary and binary thin films – n-times repeating groups of (Ti/C)n, (Ti/Sn/C)n, (Hf/In/C)n with stoichiometric ratios 2/1 and 2/1/1 prepared by ion beam sputtering, were bombarded using 35 keV or 200 keV Ar+ ions to 1013 cm−2 or 1015 cm−2 fluence. Irradiation with swift heavy ions to such a high fluence should have a significant impact on the material. In fact, it turned out that the bombardment with Ar+ ions led to a pronounced re-arrangement of the inspected multilayers – to disruption of their original structure and self-crystallization of MAX and MXene nanostructures with various (nano-to-meso) size and densities. This effect was attributed to the collision cascade energy transfer, but it is also considered to be due to collective excitation processes. This result may repoint to the importance of ion irradiation for the technology of new materials, which can be otherwise difficult to synthesize in other ways.
Acknowledgements
Measurements were performed in the NPI CANAM infrastructure, supported by MEYS CR, and in the laboratories of IICH CAS, UC Catania and UIC Chicago.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Correction Statement
This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.
Notes
1 I.e. Without the imprint of additional information such as executable programs.
2 The energy dissipation over 70 nm within 10−11 s corresponds to the tremendous supersonic speed of ∼ 25.000 km/h!
3 However, this is valid for Ar+ energies < 130 keV, for higher energy (200 keV) it is necessary to take into account also the contribution of Coulomb explosion model.
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Notes on contributors
J. Vacik
Dr. J. Vacik, expert in nuclear analytical methods and materials science, group leader, Nuclear Physics Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Rez, CR, E-mail: [email protected]
S. Bakardjieva
Dr. S. Bakardjieva, expert in microscopic analysis and materials science, Institute of Inorganic Chemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Rez, CR, E-mail: [email protected]
P. Horak
Dr. P. Horak, specialist in materials science, deposition techniques, ion beam analytical methods, Nuclear Physics Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Rez, CR, E-mail: [email protected]
A. Cannavo
Dr. A. Cannavo, specialist in materials science, plasma physics and nuclear analytical methods, Nuclear Physics Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Rez, CR, E-mail: [email protected]
G. Ceccio
Dr. G. Ceccio, specialist in materials science, plasma physics and nuclear analytical methods, Nuclear Physics Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Rez, CR, E-mail: [email protected]
V. Lavrentiev
Dr. V. Lavrentiev, expert in materials science, nuclear analytical methods, atomic force microscopy, Nuclear Physics Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Rez, CR, E-mail: [email protected]
D. Fink
Prof. D. Fink, professor in top expert in materials science, polymer science, nuclear analytical methods, informally in Nuclear Physics Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Rez, CR, and Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Mexico City, Mexico, E-mail: [email protected]
J. Plocek
Dr. J. Plocek, expert in materials science and XRD analysis, Institute of Inorganic Chemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Rez, CR, E-mail: [email protected]
J. Kupcik
Dr. J. Kupcik, expert in microscopic analysis, Institute of Inorganic Chemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Rez, CR, E-mail: [email protected]
L. Calcagno
Dr. L. Calcagno, Professor of Applied Physics, specialized in synthesis of innovative materials for applications in microelectronics, biology and medical fields, Department of Physics and Astronomy University of Catania, Catania, Italy, Email: [email protected]
R. Klie
Dr. R. Klie, Professor of Physics, specialized in Experimental Condensed Matter Physics, University of Illinois at Chicago, USA. Email: [email protected].