Ion-induced nanopatterning of silicon: Toward a predictive model

We review recent progress toward the development of predictive models of ion-induced pattern formation on room-temperature silicon, with a particular emphasis on efforts to eliminate fit parameters in the linear regime by means of experimental measurements or atomistic simulations. Analytical approaches considered include “mechanistic” models of the impact-induced collision cascade, the Crater Function Framework, and continuum treatments of ion-induced stress and viscous flow. Parameter evaluation methods include molecular dynamics and binary collision approximation simulations, as well as wafer curvature measurements and grazing incidence small-angle x-ray scattering. Mathematical detail is provided in the context of key results from pattern formation theory, which are also briefly summarized.