After an initial period of exploration, ion
beam processing (via implantation or irradiation) became
a powerful and versatile tool for over two decades in
many areas of technology from semiconductor production to
metal, ceramic or polymer surface modification. In recent
years, the very surge of technological developments, as
well as enhanced interaction with other areas of basic
physics and chemistry, have led to a new level of more
"upstream" research in this field. An example
are efforts to model the detailed evolution of a system
during, as well as after, the implantation process itself
- both from a microscopic viewpoint (via Monte Carlo or
molecular dynamics simulations) and from the
non-equilibrium thermodynamics viewpoint. This has led to
a very exciting, and rather new, interaction between
theorists and experimentalists in both the design and
interpretation of work that is often proving of great
interest for both basic understanding and applications. The aim of this
symposium is to provide a forum for a discussion of such
interactions, with an emphasis on assessing present
understanding and areas where new developments may be
expected or are required.
Topics
include, but are not restricted to:
- ion
beam synthesis of nanostructures and metastable alloys
- defect
formation, evolution and engineering
- beam
induced amorphization and crystallization
-
steady-state processes under ion irradiation
(radiation-enhanced solute concentration, diffusion,
plastic flow, phase stability etc.)
-
modeling and computer simulation of damage production,
defect and impurity kinetics, precipitation
-
self-organization of nanostructures and surface
patterning
