Work

Investigation of nanofabrication on (111), (100) and (110) surfaces of single-crystal aluminium

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Nanofabrication using focused ion beam and reactive ion etching techniques was conducted on single-crystal aluminium substrates with three crystallographic orientations: (111), (100), and (110). Among these, the (110) surface exhibited the highest etch rate of 15±2 nm/min and the lowest surface roughness of 2±0.5 nm using reactive ion etching. This enhanced understanding of how crystal orientation affects surface quality is expected to contribute significantly to the advancement of low-loss diffractive optical elements across the infrared to extreme ultraviolet spectral ranges. This is the first time that etching on single-crystal aluminium has been investigated with focused ion beam and reactive ion etching, providing references for potential optical device fabrication.

Source: Next research.

DOI: 10.1016/j.nexres.2025.101202

Authors: Xiao Sun, William D.A. Rickard, Oliver S. Burrow, Erling Riis, Charlie N. Ironside

Institutions: Curtin University, University of Strathclyde

Language: English

Topic: Ion-surface interactions and analysis

Subfield: Computational Mechanics

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $2,500

Funder: Defence Science and Technology Group