https://doi.org/10.1140/epjd/e2005-00319-x
Structural deformation, melting point and lattice parameter studies of size selected silver clusters
1
Institut für Physik, Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Universität Greifswald, Domstraße 10a, 17489 Greifswald, Germany
2
Institut für Chemie und Biochemie, Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Universität Greifswald, Soldmannstraße 16, 17489 Greifswald, Germany
Corresponding author: a shyju@physik.uni-greifswald.de
Received:
9
September
2005
Revised:
3
November
2005
Published online:
29
November
2005
Silver clusters have been produced by magnetron sputtering in a gas aggregation nanocluster source. Clusters are size selected using a quadrupole mass filter (3–8 nm) or by varying the aggregation tube length (9–20 nm) of the nanocluster source. Mass selected clusters are deposited on a Si(100) substrate at different bias voltages and are characterized by atomic force microscopy. We observe a significant flattening of clusters on the surface due to the increase of impact energy as a result of increasing substrate bias voltage. The behavior of lattice parameters for size selected clusters are investigated by X-ray diffraction. All measured lattice constants exhibit a tensile strain; it is found that the lattice constant slightly increases with increasing cluster size up to a size of 12 nm and then decreases. The melting temperature of deposited clusters is found to be size-dependent and significantly lower than for bulk material, in agreement with theoretical considerations.
PACS: 36.40.-c – Atomic and molecular clusters / 36.40.Wa – Charged clusters / 36.40.Qv – Stability and fragmentation of clusters / 61.46.+w – Nanoscale materials: clusters, nanoparticles, nanotubes, and nanocrystals
© EDP Sciences, Società Italiana di Fisica, Springer-Verlag, 2005