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Neutral but Impactful: Gallium Cluster-Induced Nanopores from Beam-Blanked Gallium Ion Sources
Dana O Byrne1,2,3, Stephanie M Ribet3, Karen C Bustillo3
1Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
Summary
Neutral atom clusters from liquid metal ion sources create nanopores in materials, bypassing beam blanking. These tunable nanopores have potential for nanofluidic applications.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Surface Science
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Focused ion beam (FIB) microscopy often suffers from contamination and sample damage.
- Liquid metal ion sources (LMIS) generate not only ions but also neutral and charged atom clusters.
- Previous research primarily focused on charged clusters, overlooking neutral cluster impact.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the formation and characteristics of neutral atom clusters generated by LMIS.
- To demonstrate the ability of neutral clusters to damage samples even when the ion beam is blanked.
- To explore the potential of electron microscopy for characterizing and manipulating resulting nanopores.
Main Methods:
- Exposure of thin freestanding membranes (hBN, Si, SiN) to neutral atom clusters from LMIS.
- Characterization of induced nanopores using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), multislice ptychography, and electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS).
- Utilizing electron irradiation in a transmission electron microscope (TEM) for pore modification.
Main Results:
- Neutral atom clusters from LMIS create randomly dispersed nanopores with an average diameter of ~2 nm.
- The nanopores exhibit a narrow size distribution, indicating a preferred cluster size.
- Electron irradiation in TEM can clear clogged pores and controllably enlarge them.
Conclusions:
- Neutral atom clusters are a significant, underappreciated source of sample modification in FIB microscopy.
- The generated nanopores are tunable in size, offering potential for nanofluidic devices.
- Electron microscopy techniques are effective for both analyzing and engineering these nanostructures.
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