Structural Changes in Nanoporous Silicon-Based Materials under Low-Energy Ion Impact

Abstract

The role of porosity and pore size in the morphological changes of nanoporous materials during low-energy ion irradiation is studied in terms of crystalline-silicon models. Molecular dynamics simulations are implemented to study the destruction of porous structures with different values of the porosity and pore size. The obtained dependences of the potential energy and specific surface area on the system temperature are used to determine the material parameters, at which the process of pore compression occurs.