Ion microscopy based on laser-cooled cesium atoms.

We demonstrate a prototype of a Focused Ion Beam machine based on the ionization of a laser-cooled cesium beam and adapted for imaging and modifying different surfaces in the few-tens nanometer range. Efficient atomic ionization is obtained by laser promoting ground-state atoms into a target excited Rydberg state, then field-ionizing them in an electric field gradient. The method allows obtaining ion currents up to 130pA. Comparison with the standard direct photo-ionization of the atomic beam shows, in our conditions, a 40-times larger ion yield. Preliminary imaging results at ion energies in the 1-5keV range are obtained with a resolution around 40nm, in the present version of the prototype. Our ion beam is expected to be extremely monochromatic, with an energy spread of the order of the eV, offering great prospects for lithography, imaging and surface analysis.

Ordered arrays of Au catalysts by FIB assisted heterogeneous dewetting.

Synthesizing Au0.8Si0.2 nanocatalysts that are homogeneous in size and have controlled position is becoming a challenging and crucial prequisite for the fabrication of ordered semiconductor nanowires. In this study, Au0.8Si0.2 nanocatalysts are synthesized via dewetting of Au layers on Si(111) during thermal annealing in an ultra-high vacuum. In the first part of the paper, the mechanism of homogeneous dewetting is analyzed as a function of the Au-deposited thickness (h Au). We distinguish three different dewetting regimes: (I) for a low thickness ([Formula: see text]), a submonolyer coverage of Au is stabilized and there is no dewetting. (II) For an intermediate thickness ([Formula: see text]), there is both dewetting and Au0.8Si0.2 phase formation. The size and density of the Au0.8Si0.2 clusters are directly related to h Au. When cooling down to room temperature, the clusters decompose and reject the Si at the Au/Si substrate interface. (III) For a large thickness ([Formula: see text]), only dewetting takes place, without forming AuSi clusters. In this regime, the dewetting is kinetically controlled by the self-diffusion of Au (activation energy ∼0.43 eV) without evidence of an Si-alloying effect. As a practical consequence, when relying solely on the homogeneous dewetting of Au/Si(111) to form the Au0.8Si0.2 catalysts (without a supply of Si atoms from vapor), regime II should be used to obtain good size and density control. In the second part of the paper, a process for ordering the catalysts using focused ion beam-(FIB) assisted dewetting (heterogeneous dewetting) is developed. We show that no matter what the FIB milling conditions and the Au nominal thickness are, dewetting is promoted by ion beam irradiation and is accompanied by the formation of Au0.8Si0.2 droplets. The droplets preferentially form on the patterned areas, while in similar annealing conditions, they do not form on the unpatterned areas. This behavior is attributed to the larger Au-Si interdiffusion in the patterned areas, which results from the Si amorphization induced by the FIB. A systematic analysis of the position of the nanodroplets shows their preferential nucleation inside the patterns, while thicker platelets of almost pure Au are observed between the patterns. The evolutions of the size homogeneity and the occupancy rate of the patterns are quantified as a function of the FIB dose and annealing temperature. Nice arrays of perfectly ordered AuSi catalysts are obtained after optimizing the FIB and dewetting conditions.

Selective growth and ordering of SiGe nanowires for band gap engineering.

Selective growth and self-organization of silicon-germanium (SiGe) nanowires (NWs) on focused ion beam (FIB) patterned Si(111) substrates is reported. In its first step, the process involves the selective synthesis of Au catalysts in SiO2-free areas; its second step involves the preferential nucleation and growth of SiGe NWs on the catalysts. The selective synthesis process is based on a simple, room-temperature reduction of gold salts (Au³âºCl4⁻) in aqueous solution, which provides well-organized Au catalysts. By optimizing the reduction process, we are able to generate a bidimensional regular array of Au catalysts with self-limited sizes positioned in SiO2-free windows opened in a SiO2/Si(111) substrate by FIB patterning. Such Au catalysts subsequently serve as preferential nucleation and growth sites of well-organized NWs. Furthermore, these NWs with tunable position and size exhibit the relevant features and bright luminescence that would find several applications in optoelectronic nanodevices.

Technical use of compact micro-onde devices.

Due to the very small size of a COMIC (Compact MIcrowave and Coaxial) device [P. Sortais, T. Lamy, J. Médard, J. Angot, L. Latrasse, and T. Thuillier, Rev. Sci. Instrum. 81, 02B31 (2010)] it is possible to install such plasma or ion source inside very different technical environments. New applications of such a device are presented, mainly for industrial applications. We have now designed ion sources for highly focused ion beam devices, ion beam machining ion guns, or thin film deposition machines. We will mainly present new capabilities opened by the use of a multi-beam system for thin film deposition based on sputtering by medium energy ion beams. With the new concept of multi-beam sputtering (MBS), it is possible to open new possibilities concerning the ion beam sputtering (IBS) technology, especially for large size deposition of high uniformity thin films. By the use of multi-spots of evaporation, each one corresponding to an independent tuning of an individual COMIC ion source, it will be very easy to co-evaporate different components.

[Simultaneous analysis of aromatic aldehydes and coumarins with high pressure liquid chromatography. Application to wines and brandies stored in oak barrels]. / Dosage simultané des aldéhydes aromatiques et des coumarines par chromatographie liquide haute performance. Application aux vins et eaux-de-vie vieillis en fût de chêne.

Aromatic aldehydes (vanillin, syringaldehyde, coniferaldehyde and sinapaldehyde) and coumarins (esculetin, umbelliferone, scopoletin and methylumbelliferone) are natural wood compounds. Storage of wines and brandies in oak barrels increases notably aldehydes and coumarins (particularly scopoletin) concentrations. These compounds were separated by high-performance liquid chromatography, on hydrocarbon bonded reversed-phase packings, with a water-acetonitrile elution gradient. They were first extracted from wines and brandies by diethyl ether and then injected on chromatographic column. A double detection was used to determine simultaneously aromatic aldehydes and coumarins by UV absorption and fluorescence respectively.

[New analytic criteria for the characterization of wines]. / Recherche de nouveaux critères analytiques de caractérisation des vins.

Isotopic analysis, determination of radioactivity are factors allowing a better characterization of wines. The analysis of the composition in stable isotopes of the constituants of wine can provide new analytic criteria for characterizing wines. Thus, the concentration of 13C in ethanol can allow the disclosure of an addition of cane sugar or maize sugar to the musts. A study of the composition in stable isotopes of the water of wines of a certain region made it possible to show a correlation between the amount of D and 18O in the water of wine, and the alcohlic concentration. The setting up of the curve showing the decrease of the radioactivity of 14C in the Girondewines allows a determination of the date, accurate to within one year, of these wines. The enzymatic determination of the gluconic acid present in the wines produced from crops attacked by Botrytis Cinerea allows one to estimate the type of rottenness of the grape; the gluconic acid, which is only present in very small quantities in wines produced from sound grapes, represents about 50 p. 100 of the fixed acides of the grapes affected by "noble rottenness" and up to 90 p. 100 in the case of adultarated grapes. Thanks to the recults obtained in 1976, standards are proposed to allow the characterization of the wines produced from grapes affected by "noble rottenness", so that they can be distinguished from, on the one hand, the wines produced from sound grapes, and on the other hand, the wines produced from adultarated grapes.