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Improved FEBID materials portfolio; pure metals, pure oxides, possibly nitrides

Based on the improved deposit purity and composition control achieved according to the immediate objectives of CELINA but also by new processes that were not anticipated initially, the available portfolio of FEBID materials has substantially increased. This includes (i) pure metals, (ii) bimetallic phases with well-defined composition, and (iii) more complex layered or even patterned nanoscale materials. Furthermore, several other types of materials are emerging but have not yet been published.

Pure Pt and Au have been achieved through a robust process using water as purification reagent that is even applicable to complex freestanding 3D nanostructures:

Novel Ag precursors enable the fabrication of Ag nanostructures with up to 75% metal content:

Pure Cu phases have been obtained by post-deposition annealing leading to segregation of Cu from the as-deposited carbon matrix:

3D cobalt nanowires can be grown with simultaneous high metallic content (up to 85%) and small diameter following optimization of the growth parameters:

Optimal composition control has been achieved using the bimetallic precursor HFeCo3(CO)12 but also silahexanes that yield a deposit with composition corresponding to the Si:C ratio of the precursor:

In another approach, deposits with defined composition such as FeSi and Fe3Si or a CoPt L10 phase well-controlled composition and magnetic properties have been fabricated by electron irradiation and annealing of multilayer structures to induce atomic species intermixing:

More recent FEBID materials developments have been summarized in a recent review:

A topical review article summarizes the state of magnetic nanodeposits grown by FEBID:

Several other interesting material developments have been proposed or are ongoing. This includes an approach that uses conversion instead of deposition. This so-called FEBIC process has been used to create nanostructures consisting of a biomaterial:

A theoretical study suggests that Co18O17 nanoparticles have a potential to be used as precursor for FEBID:

Other ongoing research concerns, for instance, the fabrication of Cu-Au alloys for sensing applications from a mixture of precursors, and studies aiming at the fabrication of a nitride. Publication will be listed here as they appear.