Methods for Directed Irradiation Synthesis with Ion and Thermal Beams

A method for fabricating structures on a substrate, comprising:

• a) providing a substrate having a substrate surface;
• b) generating nanostructures or microstructures on the substrate surface at least in part by exposing the substrate surface to thermal particles from a thermal particle source while irradiating the substrate surface with an ion beam, wherein the generated nanostructures or microstructures are smaller than the ion beam or a beam generated by the thermal particle source;
• c) obtaining a measurement of a characteristic of the substrate surface;
• d) adjusting at least one of the thermal particle source and the ion beam based on the measurement.

A method for fabricating structures on a substrate, comprising:

• a) providing a substrate having a substrate surface;
• and
• b) providing a set of control parameters to an ion beam source and to a thermal source corresponding to a desired structure topology;
• c) using directed irradiation synthesis to form a plurality of structures comprising at least one of the group of nano structures and microstructures in a first surface area of the substrate by exposing the substrate surface to an ion beam from the ion beam source and thermal particles from the thermal source, the ion beam having a beam spot on the substrate surface at least as large as the first surface area containing the formed plurality of structures.