A method was developed for the fabrication of periodic arrays of surface features having controlled spacings of 2 to 100nm. The process relied upon the selective etching of dislocations which formed at twist-bonded interfaces in bicrystals. The production of nanoscale periodic Si surface features having a mean spacing of 38nm was reported. The etching rates of edge and screw dislocations were compared, and the rate of dislocation etching was found to be poorly correlated with strain. This observation put well-known dislocation theories in doubt.

Fabrication of Nanoperiodic Surface Structures by Controlled Etching of Dislocations in Bicrystals. R.A.Wind, M.J.Murtagh, F.Mei, Y.Wang, M.A.Hines, S.L.Sass: Applied Physics Letters, 2001, 78[15], 2205-7