Atomic scale analysis of sub-10 nm implantation of size-selected gold clusters into multilayer graphene

Here, we report the sub-10 nm implantation of size-selected AuN nanoclusters (N = 20–147) into multilayer graphene with different deposition energy (50–15 000 eV) using a magnetron sputtering cluster beam source. Combined with aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy, we directly characterize the implantation depth of gold clusters and demonstrate the scaling relations between size, deposition energy, and implantation depth of gold clusters. The time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry analysis can also confirm the possibility of ultra-shallow implantation. The results are further corroborated by molecular dynamics simulations of Au55, which show that at a deposition energy of 15 keV, Au55 penetrates about 4.45 nm in multilayer graphene, consistent with our experimental result of 4.38 nm, i.e., about 13 atomic layers. Our results reveal the possibility of cluster implantation to atomic precision, thus guiding the fabrication of sub-10 nm electronic devices.