The impact of the discreteness of low-fluence ion beam processing on the spatial architecture of GaN nanostructures fabricated by surface charge lithography

We show that the descrete nature of ion beam processing used as a component in the approach of surface charge lithography leads to spatial modulation of the edges of the GaN nanostructures such as nanobelts and nanoperforated membranes. According to the performed Monte Carlo simulations, the modulation of the nanostructure edges is caused by the stochastic spatial distribution of the radiation defects generated by the impacting ions and related recoils. The obtained results pave the way for direct visualization of the networks of radiation defects induced by individual ions impacting a solid-state material.