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Science 3 September 1999:
Vol. 285. no. 5433, pp. 1551 - 1553
DOI: 10.1126/science.285.5433.1551
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Reports

Formation of Ordered Nanoscale Semiconductor Dots by Ion Sputtering

S. Facsko, 1* T. Dekorsy, 1 C. Koerdt, 1 C. Trappe, 1 H. Kurz, 1 A. Vogt, 2 H. L. Hartnagel 2

A formation process for semiconductor quantum dots based on a surface instability induced by ion sputtering under normal incidence is presented. Crystalline dots 35 nanometers in diameter and arranged in a regular hexagonal lattice were produced on gallium antimonide surfaces. The formation mechanism relies on a natural self-organization mechanism that occurs during the erosion of surfaces, which is based on the interplay between roughening induced by ion sputtering and smoothing due to surface diffusion.

1 Institute of Semiconductor Electronics, Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen, Sommerfeldstrasse 24, 52074 Aachen, Germany.
2 Institut für Hochfrequenztechnik, TU Darmstadt, Merckstrasse 25, 64283 Darmstadt, Germany.
*   To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: facsko{at}iht-ii.rwth-aachen.de

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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Shocks in Ion Sputtering Sharpen Steep Surface Features.
H. H. Chen, O. A. Urquidez, S. Ichim, L. H. Rodriquez, M. P. Brenner, and M. J. Aziz (2005)
Science 310, 294-297
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