P. Romero-Gómez, A. Palmero, F. Yubero, M. Vinnichenko, A. Kolitsch, A.R. González-Elipe
Scripta Materialia, 60 (2009) 574-577
doi: 10.1016/j.scriptamat.2008.12.014

This work reports a procedure to modify the surface nanostructure of TiO₂ anatase thin films through ion beam irradiation with energies in the keV range. Irradiation with N⁺ ions leads to the formation of a layer with voids at a depth similar to the ion-projected range. By setting the ion-projected range a few tens of nanometers below the surface of the film, well-ordered nanorods appear aligned with the angle of incidence of the ion beam. Slightly different results were obtained by using heavier (S⁺) and lighter (B⁺) ions under similar conditions.