Self-assembled α-FeSi(2) nanoislands were formed using solid-phase epitaxy of low (~1.2 ML) and high (~21 ML) Fe coverages onto vicinal Si(111) surfaces followed by thermal annealing. At a resulting low Fe-covered Si(111) surface, we observed in situ, by real-time scanning tunneling microscopy and surface electron diffraction, the entire sequence of Fe-silicide formation and transformation from the initially two-dimensional (2 × 2)-reconstructed layer at 300 °C into (2 × 2)-reconstructed nanoislands decorating the vicinal step-bunch edges in a self-ordered fashion at higher temperatures. In contrast, the silicide nanoislands at a high Fe-covered surface were noticeably larger, more three-dimensional, and randomly distributed all over the surface. Ex situ x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy indicated the formation of an α-FeSi(2) island phase, in an α-FeSi(2){112} // Si{111} orientation. Superconducting quantum interference device magnetometry showed considerable superparamagnetism, with ~1.9 μ(B)/Fe atom at 4 K for the low Fe-coverage, indicating stronger ferromagnetic coupling of individual magnetic moments, as compared to high Fe-coverage, where the calculated moments were only ~0.8 μ(B)/Fe atom. Such anomalous magnetic behavior, particularly for the low Fe-coverage case, is radically different from the non-magnetic bulk α-FeSi(2) phase, and may open new pathways to high-density magnetic memory storage devices.

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We report on structural and optical properties of Mn-doped CdS thin films prepared by 190 keV Mn-ion implantation at different temperatures. Mn-ion implantation in the fluence range of 1×1013–1×1016 ions cm−2 does not lead to the formation of any secondary phase. However, it induces structural disorder, causing a decrease in the optical band gap. This is addressed on the basis of band tailing due to creation of localized energy states and Urbach energy calculations. Mn-doped samples exhibit a new band in their photoluminescence spectra at 2.22 eV, which originates from the d-d (T41→A61) transition of tetrahedrally coordinated Mn2+ ions.

Influence of excess Fe accumulation over the surface of FePt nanoparticles: Structural and magnetic properties

The present study reports on high-flux, low-energy He + ion irradiation as a novel method of enhancing the surface porosity and surface area of naturally oxidized niobium (Nb). Our study shows that ion-irradiation-induced Nb surface micro-and nano-structures are highly tunable by varying the target temperature during ion bombardment. Mirrorpolished Nb samples were irradiated with 100 eV He + ions at a flux of 1.2×10 21 ions m-2 s-1 to a total fluence of 4.3×10 24 ions m-2 with simultaneous sample annealing in the temperature range of 773-1223 K to demonstrate the influence of sample temperature on the resulting Nb surface morphology. This surface morphology was primarily characterized using field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Below 923 K, Nb surfaces form nano-scale tendrils and exhibit significant increases in surface porosity. Above 923 K, homogeneously populated nano-pores with an average diameter of ~60 nm are observed in addition to a smaller population of sub-micron sized pores (up to ~230 nm in diameter). Our analysis shows a significant reduction in surface pore number density and surface porosity with increasing sample temperature. High-resolution ex-situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) shows Nb 2 O 5 phase in all of the ion-irradiated samples. To further demonstrate the length scales in which radiation-induced surface roughening occurs,

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