Pillar Growth by Focused Electron Beam-Induced Deposition Using a Bimetallic Precursor as Model System: High-Energy Fragmentation vs. Low-Energy Decomposition
Robert Winkler,
Michele Brugger-Hatzl,
Fabrizio Porrati,
David Kuhness,
Thomas Mairhofer,
Lukas M. Seewald,
Gerald Kothleitner,
Michael Huth,
Harald Plank,
Sven Barth
Affiliations
Robert Winkler
Christian Doppler Laboratory—DEFINE, Graz University of Technology, 8010 Graz, Austria
Michele Brugger-Hatzl
Graz Centre for Electron Microscopy, 8010 Graz, Austria
Fabrizio Porrati
Institute of Physics, Goethe University, Max-von-Laue-Str. 1, 60438 Frankfurt, Germany
David Kuhness
Christian Doppler Laboratory—DEFINE, Graz University of Technology, 8010 Graz, Austria
Thomas Mairhofer
Institute of Electron Microscopy, Graz University of Technology, 8010 Graz, Austria
Lukas M. Seewald
Christian Doppler Laboratory—DEFINE, Graz University of Technology, 8010 Graz, Austria
Gerald Kothleitner
Graz Centre for Electron Microscopy, 8010 Graz, Austria
Michael Huth
Institute of Physics, Goethe University, Max-von-Laue-Str. 1, 60438 Frankfurt, Germany
Harald Plank
Christian Doppler Laboratory—DEFINE, Graz University of Technology, 8010 Graz, Austria
Sven Barth
Institute of Physics, Goethe University, Max-von-Laue-Str. 1, 60438 Frankfurt, Germany
Electron-induced fragmentation of the HFeCo3(CO)12 precursor allows direct-write fabrication of 3D nanostructures with metallic contents of up to >95 at %. While microstructure and composition determine the physical and functional properties of focused electron beam-induced deposits, they also provide fundamental insights into the decomposition process of precursors, as elaborated in this study based on EDX and TEM. The results provide solid information suggesting that different dominant fragmentation channels are active in single-spot growth processes for pillar formation. The use of the single source precursor provides a unique insight into high- and low-energy fragmentation channels being active in the same deposit formation process.
