Surface modification of silver iodide films by electron irradiation

It has been found experimentally that electron irradiation of polycrystalline AgI films leads to the formation of a nanocrystalline silver particle monolayer. With an increase in the irradiation time, the nanoparticle size grows but the concentration of the particles first increases and then drops. Formation mechanisms of the nanoparticles and the dynamics of their growth have been considered. Ostwald's ripening, fieldinduced migration, and nanoparticle charge variation during irradiation by low-energy electrons have been shown to be the main processes responsible for the above effects.