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Strain- and defect-engineering are two powerful approaches to tailor the opto-electronic properties of two-dimensional (2D) materials, but the relationship between applied mechanical strain and behavior of defects in these systems remains elusive. Using first-principles calculations, we study the response to external strain of $h$-BN, graphene, MoSe$_2$, and phosphorene, four archetypal 2D materials, which contain substitutional impurities. We find that the formation energy of the defect structures can either increase or decrease with bi-axial strain, depending on the atomic radius of the impurity atom, which can be larger or smaller than that of the host atom. Analysis of the strain maps indicates that this behaviour is associated with the compressive or tensile local strains produced by the impurities that interfere with the external strain. We further show that the change in the defect formation energy is related to the change in elastic moduli of the 2D materials upon introduction of impurity, which can correspondingly increase or decrease. The discovered trends are consistent across all studied 2D materials and are likely to be general. Our findings open up opportunities for combined strain- and defect-engineering to tailor the opto-electronic properties of 2D materials, and specifically, the location and properties of single-photon emitters.

Unprecedented two-dimensional (2D) metal chloride structures were grown between sheets of bilayer graphene through intercalation of metal and chlorine atoms. Numerous spatially confined 2D phases of AlCl3 and CuCl2 distinct from their typical bulk forms were found, and the transformations between these new phases under the electron beam were directly observed by in situ scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). Our density functional theory calculations confirmed the metastability of the atomic structures derived from the STEM experiments and provided insights into the electronic properties of the phases, which range from insulators to semimetals. Additionally, the co-intercalation of different metal chlorides was found to create completely new hybrid systems; in-plane quasi-1D AlCl3/CuCl2 heterostructures were obtained. The existence of polymorphic phases hints at the unique possibilities for fabricating new types of 2D materials with diverse electronic properties confined between graphene sheets.

Luminescent centres in the two-dimensional material hexagonal boron nitride have the potential to enable quantum applications at room temperature. In order to be utilized for applications it is crucial to generate these centres in a controlled manner and to identify their microscopic nature. Here we present a novel method inspired by irradiation engineering with oxygen atoms. We explore systematically the influence of the kinetic energy and the irradiation fluence on the generation of luminescent centres. We find modifications of their density for both parameters while a five-fold enhancement is observed with increasing fluence. Molecular dynamics simulations clarify the generation mechanism of these centres and their microscopic nature. We infer that V_N C_B and V_B are the most likely centres formed. Ab initio calculations of their optical properties show excellent agreement with our experiments. Our methodology generates quantum emitters in a controlled manner and provides new insights into their microscopic nature.

Controlled production of defects in hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) through ion irradiation has recently been demonstrated to be an effective tool for adding new functionalitites to this material such as single photon generation and for developing optical quantum applications. Using analytical potential molecular dynamics, we study the mechanisms of vacancy creation in single- and multi-layer h-BN under low- and high-fluence ion irradiation. Our results quantify the densities of defects produced by noble gas ions in a wide range of ion energies and elucidate the types and distribution of defects in the target. The simulation data can directly be used to guide the experiment aimed at the creation of defects of particular types in h-BN targets for single-photon emission, spin-selective optical transitions and other applications by using beams of energetic ions.

Si nanopillars for the fabrication of vertical nanowire gate-all-around Single Electron Transistors [1], have been irradiated with Si++, Pb+, Pb++, Au +, Au++, Au2 +, and Au3 + ions accelerated by 30 kV. A FIB of mass separated ions, extracted from a Liquid Metal Alloy Ion Source [2], has been scanned over regular arrays of Si nanopillars of different diameters and pillar distances. The irradiations have been performed at RT and 400∘C. Different morphological changes of the pillars like thinning, height reduction, tilting etc. have been observed which can be attributed to ion erosion (sputtering), impact-induced viscous flow or even transient nanosecond-scale melting [3]. The pillars were imaged by AFM, SEM, TEM and HIM. 3D Monte Carlo simulations [4] of ion and recoil trajectories based on the Binary Collision Approximation and Molecular Dynamics calculations have been carried out in order to discriminate the dominating processes. [1] EU project Ions4SET, Horizon 2020 grant No. 688072 [2] L.Bischoff, et al., Appl. Phys. Rev. 3 (2016) 021101 [3] C. Anders, K.-H. Heinig, H. Urbassek, Phys. Rev. B87 (2013) 245434 [4] W. Möller,NIM B322 (2014) 23

The interpretation of helium ion microscopy (HIM) images of crystalline metal clusters requires microscopic understanding of the effects of He ion irradiation on the system, including energy deposition and associated heating, as well as channeling patterns. While channeling in bulk metals has been studied at length, there is no quantitative data for small clusters. We carry out molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the behavior of gold nano-particles with diameters of 5–15 nm under 30 keV He ion irradiation. We show that impacts of the ions can give rise to substantial heating of the clusters through deposition of energy into electronic degrees of freedom, but it does not affect channeling, as clusters cool down between consecutive impact of the ions under typical imaging conditions. At the same time, high temperatures and small cluster sizes should give rise to fast annealing of defects so that the system remains crystalline. Our results show that ion-channeling occurs not only in the principal low-index, but also in the intermediate directions. The strengths of different channels are specified, and their correlations with sputtering-yield and damage production is discussed, along with size-dependence of these properties. The effects of planar defects, such as stacking faults on channeling were also investigated. Finally, we discuss the implications of our results for the analysis of HIM images of metal clusters.

Two-dimensional (2D) materials with nanometer-size holes are promising systems for DNA sequencing, water purification, and molecule selection/separation. However, controllable creation of holes with uniform sizes and shapes is still a challenge, especially when the 2D material consists of several atomic layers as, e.g., MoS2, the archetypical transition metal dichalcogenide.We use analytical potential molecular dynamics simulations to study the response of 2D MoS2tocluster irradiation. We model both freestanding and supported sheets and assess the amount of damage created in MoS2by the impacts of noble gas clusters in a wide range of cluster energies and incident angles. We show that cluster irradiation can be used to produce uniform holes in 2DMoS2with the diameter being dependent on cluster size and energy. Energetic clusters can also beused to displace sulfur atoms preferentially from either top or bottom layers of S atoms in MoS2and also clean the surface of MoS2sheets from adsorbents. Our results for MoS2, which should be relevant to other 2D transition metal dichalcogenides, suggest new routes toward cluster beam engineering of devices based on 2Dinorganic materials.

Ion channeling is a well-known effect in ion irradiation processes, which is a result of ion moving between the rows of atoms. It drastically affects the ion distribution, ion energy-loss and consequently the damage production in the target. Therefore one could derive the ion-channeling pattern out of the energy-loss behavior of ion-target interaction. Ion channeling effect is studied for a few pure element crystals and also for some compounds in a systematic way [1]. In this work, we focus on nano-structures which are of major importance, due to their high surface-to-volume ratio. Our results, for different gold cluster sizes, show that ion-channeling occurs not only in the principal low-index, but also in other directions in between. The strengths of different channels are specified, and their correlations with sputtering-yield and damage production is discussed.

The interpretation of helium ion microscopy (HIM) images of crystalline metal clusters requires microscopic understanding of the effects of He ion irradiation on the system, including energy deposition and associated heating, as well as channeling patterns. While channeling in bulk metals has been studied at length, there is no quantitative data for small clusters. We carry out molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the behavior of gold nano-particles with diameters of 5–15 nm under 30 keV He ion irradiation. We show that impacts of the ions can give rise to substantial heating of the clusters through deposition of energy into electronic degrees of freedom, but it does not affect channeling, as clusters cool down between consecutive impact of the ions under typical imaging conditions. At the same time, high temperatures and small cluster sizes should give rise to fast annealing of defects so that the system remains crystalline. Our results show that ion-channeling occurs not only in the principal low-index, but also in the intermediate directions. The strengths of different channels are specified, and their correlations with sputtering-yield and damage production is discussed, along with size-dependence of these properties. The effects of planar defects, such as stacking faults on channeling were also investigated. Finally, we discuss the implications of our results for the analysis of HIM images of metal clusters.

At the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, molecular dynamics computer simulations are employed to study the sputtering yield and channeling effects in Gold nano-clusters of different sizes. Primary ion energy and crystal orientation are varied to obtain a holistic image of the possible effects relevant for scanning transmission ion microscopy. Our results show that ion-channeling occurs not only in the principal low-index, but also in other directions in between. The strengths of different channels are specifed, and their correlations with sputtering yield and damage production is addressed. The figure below shows sputtering under 30 keV He ion irradiation of 5 nm Gold nano-clusters.

Helium ion Microscopy (HIM) is frequently used for the fabrication of 2D nanostructures in graphene, MoS 2 and other materials. While some of the experiments are carried out with freestanding materials most of the work is done on supported material. While the defect production is understood for the former case, it is not fully understood in the latter setup. We used a combination of analytical potential molecular dynamics and Monte Carlo simulations to elucidate the role of the different damage channels, namely primary ions, backscattered atoms and sputtered substrate atoms. Using this approach we looked at the defect production by helium and neon ions in MoS 2 and graphene supported by SiO 2 at typical energies used in HIM. We show that depending on ion species and energy defect production for supported 2D materials can be dominated by sputtered atoms from the support, rather than direct damage induced by the primary ion beam. We also evaluated the consequences of these additional damage mechanisms on the achievable lateral resolution for HIM based defect engineering and nano-fabrication in 2D materials. The obtained results agree well with experimental results obtained by in-situ and ex-situ characterization of defects in graphene and MoS 2 .

Focused ion beams perfectly suit for patterning two-dimensional (2D) materials, but the optimization of irradiation parameters requires full microscopic understanding of defect production mechanisms. Contrary to free-standing 2D systems, the details of damage creation in supported 2D materials are not fully understood, while the majority of experiments have been carried out for 2D targets deposited on substrates. Here we suggest a universal and computationally efficient scheme to model the irradiation of supported 2D materials, which combines analytical potential molecular dynamics with Monte Carlo (MC) simulations, which makes it possible to assess independently the contributions to the damage from backscattered ions and atoms sputtered from the substrate. Using the scheme, we study defect production in graphene and MoS₂ sheets, which are the two most important and wide-spread 2D materials, deposited on a SiO₂ substrate. For helium and neon ions with a wide range of initial ion energies including those used in commercial helium ion microscope (HIM), we demonstrate that depending on ion energy and mass, defect production in 2D systems can be dominated by backscattered ions and sputtered substrate atoms rather than by the direct ion impacts, and that the amount of damage in 2D materials heavily depends on whether a substrate is present or not. We also study the factors which limit the spatial resolution of the patterning process. Our results, which agree well with the available experimental data, provide not only insights into defect production, but also quantitative information, which can be used for the minimization of damage during imaging in HIM or optimization of the patterning process.

Gas field ion sources (GFIS) using helium and neon as ion species are new and rapidly growing ion beam techniques. However, GFIS based focused ion beams (FIB) are not the only new ion beam techniques offering new capabilities that go beyond what classic Ga based FIB can do. Based on the contributions to the recently held meeting on Helium and Emerging Focused Ion Beams (HeFIB) I will report on the newest developments in this field. I will try to highlight new technological developments in the field of GFIS based FIBs, but also present new and emerging alternative FIB source techniques such as Laser cooled sources, liquid metal alloy source, or Xe plasma FIBs. However, such new techniques also open up many new application fields. I will present selected examples of in which focused ion beams have been used for imaging, localized materials modification as well as classical FIB based fabrication of nano- structures.