Nanostructure Formation on Rutile TiO2 and Ta surfaces

This book discusses the generation of nano-patterns on single crystal semiconducting rutile TiO2 surfaces and metallic Tantalum surfaces via the technique of ion irradiation. The scaling studies on these non-equilibrium surfaces as well as the scaling exponents show that these surfaces belong to different universality classes. Results presented here further show that the inclusion of Schwoebel barrier in the metallic tantalum is important for understanding pattern formation. Development of nanostructures on the surface and creation of vacancy sites along with the different phase formation, upon ion irradiation, promote the high photoabsorption and the reduced band gaps observed here. Formation of the cobalt nanoclusters, after implantation, also manifests in unusual superparamagnetic behavior which has huge application in spintronic devices.