Figure 1

Si targets bombarded by a nanodroplet beamlet at acceleration voltages of (a) 9.5, (b) 11.0, (c) 12.5, (d) 14.0, (e) 15.5, and (f) 17.5 kV. The central ovoid is the impact region, while the surrounding iridescent rings are formed by a thin film of deposits.Reuse & Permissions

Figure 2

(a) SEM image (top left) and EBSD crystal orientation map (top right) of the specular surface and surrounding ditch in Fig. 1f. Only Si-I points are assigned a color (see the inverse pole figure scale), where red implies that the crystal’s [100] direction is along the surface’s normal. Gray areas are indicative of amorphous material. Bottom left: The EBSD map includes the deposition area (an amorphous mixture of Si, C, N, O, F, and S) and the original Si-I surface on the far right. (b) SEM image (top) and EBSD map (bottom) of a bombarded area with cratered and specular surfaces. The specular region is amorphous Si, while the micron-sized craters are mostly crystalline.Reuse & Permissions

Figure 3

TEM images of a sample from the specular surface in Fig. 1e. The nanodrops amorphize a surface layer with a depth of approximately 30 nm, visible between a protective C layer and the crystalline Si substrate. (a) Bright field TEM micrograph of the cross section displaying the C layer, amorphous Si layer, and crystalline Si substrate; (b) Si map recorded with Si $L$-loss electrons; (c) C map imaged with C $K$-loss electrons; (d) high-resolution TEM image of the interface between crystalline and amorphous Si. The top inset is the fast Fourier transform pattern of the amorphous area, and the bottom inset is the fast Fourier transform pattern of crystalline Si.Reuse & Permissions