title: Self-organized chains of nanodots induced by an off-normal incident beam.
abstract: We propose a model to show that under off-normal bombardment of an incident ion beam, a solid surface may spontaneously form nanoscale dots lining up into chains perpendicular to the incident beam direction. These dots demonstrate a highly ordered hexagonal pattern. We attribute the self-organization behavior to surface instability under concurrent surface kinetics and to a shadow effect that causes the self-alignment of dots. The fundamental mechanism may be applicable to diverse systems, suggesting an effective approach for nanofabrication.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA. weilu@umich.edu.
authors.forename: Seungjun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Lumin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Lu