Nanostructuring of transition metal induced by neutral gas and low-energy ion irradiation

A large variety of materials are used for plenty of applications, such as energy storage, gas sensing or for microelectronics. Modifying the material surfaces at the nanoscale is a promising way to improve the efficiency of the material regarding specific applications. In order to nanopattern the surface, Many approaches exist to achieve surface nanostructures, including chemistry surface reactions, plasma irradiation methods, etching or deposition at grazing angles. In this thesis, the focus was on two nanostructuring methods. Firstly, the evaporation of material in various neutral atmosphere conditions to investigate the influence of the deposition energy on the film morphologies. Secondly, the ion bombardment of various surfaces using low-energy argon (Ar) or helium (He) ions. The main focus of the thesis was to better understand the phenomena responsible for surface nanopatterning under different conditions (neutral atmosphere and ions) and finely tune the nanostructures to improve their efficiency in their respective domains of applicability.