This paper presents the results of experimental studies of the effect of Si(111) surface modification by Ga-focused ion beam (FIB) at 30 kV accelerating voltage on the features of the epitaxial GaAs nanowire (NW) growth processes. We experimentally established the regularities of the Ga ions’ dose effect during surface modification on the structural characteristics of GaAs NW arrays. Depending on the Ga ion dose value, there is one of three modes on the surface for subsequent GaAs NW growth. At low doses, the NW growth is almost completely suppressed. The growth mode of high-density (up to 6.56 µm−2) GaAs NW arrays with a maximum fraction (up to 70%) of nanowires normally oriented to the substrate is realized in the medium ion doses range. A continuous polycrystalline base with a dense array of misoriented short (up to 0.9 µm) and thin (up to 27 nm) GaAs NWs is formed at high doses. We assume that the key role is played by the interaction of the implanted Ga ions with the surface at various process stages and its influence on the surface structure in the modification region and on GaAs NW growth conditions.

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We studied the influence of the arsenic pressure during low-temperature GaAs overgrowth of InAs quantum dots on their optical properties. In the photoluminescence spectrum of quantum dots overgrown at a high arsenic pressure, we observed a single broad line corresponding to unimodal size distribution of quantum dots. Meanwhile, two distinct peaks (~1080 and ~1150 nm) at larger wavelengths are found in the spectra of samples with quantum dots overgrown at a low arsenic pressure. We attributed this phenomenon to the high-pressure suppression of atom diffusion between InAs islands at the overgrowth stage, which makes it possible to preserve the initial unimodal size distribution of quantum dots. The same overgrowth of quantum dots at the low arsenic pressure induces intensive mass transfer, which leads to the formation of arrays of quantum dots with larger sizes. Integrated photoluminescence intensity at 300 K is found to be lower for quantum dots overgrown at the higher arsenic pressure. However, a difference in the photoluminescence intensity for the high- and low-pressure overgrowths is not so significant for a temperature of 77 K. This indicates that excess arsenic incorporates into the capping layer at high arsenic pressures and creates numerous nonradiative recombination centers, diminishing the photoluminescence intensity.

In this work, we studied the effect of annealing the silicon surface on the morphology of focused ion beam modified areas. It was found that an increase in the ion beam accelerating voltage during surface treatment significantly affects the morphology and the appearance of the implanted material on the surface or its absence/evaporation during annealing. It is shown that an increase in number of ion beam passes leads to the formation of holes on the surface of the modified areas, which is a sign that significant damage to the substrate material has occurred.

The paper presents the results of experimental studies of the influence of the main parameters of a focused ion beam (FIB) during surface profiling on the accuracy of transfer of a pattern to a silicon substrate to create nanoscale field emission structures. In this work, the optimal FIB currents are determined, introducing a minimum amount of distortions during the formation of structures of various sizes. The possibilities of the method of local ion-beam etching of structures in a wide range from 0.1 to 2 μm are shown. The prospects of using this technology for the creation of field emission structures have been demonstrated. It is determived the current-voltage characteristic of the fabricated field-emission cells with a threshold voltage of the onset of emission of ∼ 2.5 V and a maximum current of 300 nA at 30 V.