Electronic-Excitation-Induced Processing in GaSb Compound Nanoparticles

Abstract

Temperature dependence of electronic-excitation-induced structural changes in nanoparticles has been studied by in situ transmission electron microscopy. When GaSb nanoparticles kept at 340 K were excited by 25 keV electrons, the compound transforms to the porous compound or the two-phase structure consisting of an antimony core and a gallium shell with increasing the total electron dose. On the other hand, in GaSb nanoparticles kept at 293 K the structure remains the original compound phase. It is suggested that such temperature dependence of the structural changes may arise from synergetic behaviors of point defects introduced athermally by the excitation and thermal mobility.