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Surface modification of polycrystalline thin films of aluminum nitride using bombardment with an cluster ion beam has been investigated. The treatment has been performed using high-energy (105 eV/atom) and low-energy (10 eV/atom) argon cluster ions. High-efficiency smoothing of the nanostructured surface in a wide range of spatial frequencies ( = 0.02–128 μm–1) at ultrasmall etching depth (<100 nm) is demonstrated by atomic force microscopy with the application of the power spectral density function of roughness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is demonstrated that a argon cluster ion beam can be used for the finishing treatment of ultrasmooth surfaces (with initial root-mean-square roughness below 0.3 nm) of potassium titanyl phosphate single crystals. Analysis of the power spectral density function of surface roughness showed that cluster-ion irradiation leads to removal of residual chemical contaminations from the subsurface layer and produces additional smoothing of the crystal surface in a broad range of spatial frequencies (ν = 0.2–100 μm–1). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]