E-beam induced mass transport in amorphous As20Se80 films

E-beam irradiation induced mass transport in thin chalcogenide films As20Se80 has been detected and investigated. After irradiation in SEM by a given fluence, the profiles of the irradiated areas were analyzed both by AFM and SEM. Line e-beam scan of the film results in formation of ridges and depressions near the ridges, both grow with the exposure time. It is demonstrated that formation of ridges and depressions is induced by e-beam accelerated lateral mass transport. This is confirmed by experiments on flattening under e-beam irradiation of surface relief gratings preliminary produced on the film surface. The lateral mass transport in this case is caused by capillary forces and mobility of the film constituents is accelerated by e-irradiation. E-beam induced diffusion coefficients have been determined from the flattening kinetics. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.