Award Number: CTS-0650536 Principal Investigator: Gyeong Hwang Affiliation: University of Texas Proposal Title: SGER: Exploratory Theoretical Study of Differential Charging of Nanopatterned Dielectric Materials
This main objective of this work is to determine how nanoscale dimensions affect the plasma processing problem of surface charging. As charges build up on an exposed insulating surface, the energy, flux, and trajectory of incoming ions can be altered, preventing or distorting the process they are supposed to achieve. This problem has been studied previously at the continuum scale by trajectory methods. However, at the nanoscale, a single ion can also affect the local electric field when it joins the surface. That feature and features around it may be affected, particularly including trenches. The techniques that will be used are reasonably well established, but the question of nanoscale distortions has not been explored. If it proves significant, it would lead to a range of technological and scientific challenges to be addressed further.
