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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 February 2011
We have implemented and investigated numerically a new process to fabricate self-organized metal networks and lines on non-metallic substrates. We have deposited a thin film of Cu on silicon and glass substrates and etched the film by a 1 keV-energy Ar beam. Due to the kinetic mechanism known as sputter instability, nanosize metal patterns self-organize on the substrate at the stage when the etched surface reaches the metal/substrate interface. By numerical simulations, we have investigated the mechanism and control factors for the process.