Low energy ion bombardment induced roughening and smoothing of SiO2 surfaces

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Abstract
Surface roughening and smoothing of SiO2 by low energy ion bombardment were investigated using in situ energy dispersive x‐ray reflectivity. Bombardment of nominally smooth surfaces (initial roughness approx. 0.4 nm) by 1 keV Xe increases the surface roughness linearly with fluence. Bombardment of initially rough surfaces (roughness approx. 1 nm) by 0.2–1 keV H results in an exponential decrease in roughness with fluence at a rate that increases with energy. The smoothing rate has a different energy dependence than the etching rate, ruling out a simple relation between material removal and surface morphology. A H ion induced relaxation mechanism is suggested for the smoothing behavior.