Dynamics of Faceted Nanoparticles Formation in a Crystalline Matrix During Ion Implantation Processing

The faceted nanoparticle synthesized by ion implantation, such as Zn, Cu or Ag nanoparticles, is one of the promising materials for the next generation of optical devices. To understand and better control the manufacturing processes of ion implantation, a theoretical model is applied to investigate the formation and evolution of faceted nanoparticles under various experimental conditions of implantation processing. In this study, the mechanisms of the anisotropic interfacial energy and kinetics with different ion distributions are taken into consideration to demonstrate the role of the crystallographic symmetry, ion energy and temperature on the faceted nanoparticles formation in a crystalline matrix. As presented in the numerical results, the morphological shape of the nanoparticles is mainly affected by the crystallographic symmetry, while the distribution of the precipitates is principally determined by the ion energy. For the condition of high-temperature implantation, a high mobility of ions causes the characteristic length of nanostructures to increase and creates a coarsening morphology of nanoparticles. It is attributed to a longer diffusion distance during the nucleation and growth processes. This model can be widely used for the predictions of the nanostructures formation with various ion implantation processes.