Abstract Electron beam induced etching (EBIE) has recently emerged as a promising direct-write nanofabrication technique. EBIE is typically assumed to proceed entirely through chemical pathways driven by electron-electron interactions. Here we show that knock-on (i.e., momentum transfer from electrons to nuclei) can play a significant role in EBIE, even at electron beam energies as low as 1.5 keV. Specifically, we calculate knock-on cross-sections for H, D, O and CO on the surface of diamond and show experimentally that they affect the kinetics of EBIE performed using oxygen, hydrogen and deuterium etch precursors. Our results advance basic understanding of electron-adsorbate interactions, particularly in relation to EBIE and the related techniques of electron beam-induced deposition and surface functionalisation.

中文翻译：

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撞击在电子束诱导蚀刻金刚石中的作用

摘要 电子束诱导蚀刻 (EBIE) 最近已成为一种很有前途的直接写入纳米制造技术。通常假设 EBIE 完全通过由电子-电子相互作用驱动的化学途径进行。在这里我们表明，即使在电子束能量低至 1.5 keV 的情况下，连锁反应（即从电子到原子核的动量转移）也可以在 EBIE 中发挥重要作用。具体来说，我们计算了金刚石表面上 H、D、O 和 CO 的碰撞截面，并通过实验表明它们会影响使用氧、氢和氘蚀刻前体进行的 EBIE 的动力学。我们的结果促进了对电子-吸附物相互作用的基本理解，特别是与 EBIE 以及电子束诱导沉积和表面功能化的相关技术有关。