Formation of corrugated nano-fuzz tungsten thin film on silicon via helium plasma irradiation

Abstract

Abstract Tungsten thin films were deposited onto silicon substrates using sputtering techniques, and helium plasma irradiation was performed in a linear plasma device. Observations of the surface and cross-sectional morphology revealed the presence of a corrugated fiberform nanostructure, referred to as corrugated nano-fuzz, on the irradiated silicon samples. This structure has a distinct pattern of ridges and valleys with nanofibers on the surface. In addition to its unique morphology, the corrugated nano-fuzz demonstrates remarkable optical absorptivity, as revealed by optical absorptivity measurements, even after being exposed to helium plasma even for a short duration. The utilization of silicon-substrate thin film holds the potential to not only accelerate the processing for nanostructure growth but also yield uniformly corrugated structures and high optical absorptivity. These findings offer valuable insights for advancing the development of efficient fabrication methods within the field of nanotechnology.