Electron-Beam-Induced Deposition as a Technique for Analysis of Precursor Molecule Diffusion Barriers and Prefactors

Electron-beam-induced deposition (EBID) is a direct-write chemical vapor deposition technique in which an electron beam is used for precursor dissociation. Here we show that Arrhenius analysis of the deposition rates of nanostructures grown by EBB) can be used to deduce the diffusion energies and corresponding preexponential factors of EBB) precursor molecules. We explain the limitations of this approach, define growth conditions needed to minimize errors, and explain why the errors increase systematically as EBB) parameters diverge from ideal growth conditions. Under suitable deposition conditions, EBB) can be used as a localized technique for analysis of adsorption barriers and prefactors.