Cluster beam synthesis of nanostructured thin films

The use of clusters as elemental building blocks can open routes toward the fabrication of a new class of nanostructured solids and devices. We report the synthesis of nanostructured films using supersonic cluster beam deposition. A new type of cluster source based on microplasma ablation has been developed. This allows a substantial improvement in terms of deposition rate and control on cluster mass distribution. These achievements make supersonic cluster beams a useful tool in the arena of cluster assembling of materials. We have applied this technique to the growth of nanostructured carbon thin films. The structure and morphology of the films can be controlled by varying the cluster mass distribution prior to deposition. Deposition conditions affect the surface roughness and the onset of scale-invariant morphology on a dimension domain extending from the nanometer up to the micrometer. The cluster beam deposition method shows very promising features in view of the large scale growth of nanostructured films with novel functional and structural properties. The patterning of three-dimensional nanostructured objects is also demonstrated.