Smoothing of Silica Glass Surfaces by Ion Implantation

Abstract
Enhancement of surface smoothness during ion implantation in rectangularly patterned silica glasses has been observed by scanning electron microscopy. The smoothness of the silica glass surface is significantly improved with increasing ion dose. The efficiency of ion beam smoothing strongly depends on the energy of the incident ion and ion species, whereas it depends weakly on dose rate and temperature. The efficiency of smoothing on the ion energy indicates a maximum when the range of the incident ion corresponds to the height of the rectangular step. Viscous flow is found to be a dominant process from analysis of the change in the surface profile.

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