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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 February 2011
A novel technique for fabricating uniform, ultrafine metal clusters of controlled size and distribution is described. The technique employs conventional adiabatic expansion of an evaporated source material for controlled formation of the clusters, but additionally incorporates electron-impact ionization and acceleration for further control of the size and distribution of the deposited particles. The key control parameters investigated are the diameter of the adiabatic nozzle, the proportion and energy of the ionized particles in the cluster beam, the substrate temperature, and the deposition time. The use of electron irradiation and acceleration of the source beam has proven to be particularly effective in producing monodisperse clusters. Using this new approach, uniform Ni clusters as small as 10 Å were deposited on an amorphous carbon substrate. The size and structure of the deposited Ni clusters were analyzed using high-resolution TEM and STEM.