From 19 to 23 August, the 24th International Conference on Ion-Surface Interactions (ISI-2019) has been held in Moscow. The conference is being held since 1971 every two years with the active participation of scientists, lecturers and students of MEPhI. MEPhI organized the last three conferences in the hotel "Intourist Kolomenskoye".
Reports were made by scientists from Austria, Belgium, Germany, Russia, Sweden, Japan – in total 18 countries from three continents. The participants discussed fundamental issues of ion-surface interaction, as well as considered works of great applied importance in materials science, micro- and nanoelectronics, analytical instrumentation, thermonuclear research and aerospace.
The main focus of the conference is understanding and interpretation of the processes occurring in the interaction of two different physical substances: flows of moving particles and various condensed environments – crystalline, amorphous, nanostructured.
“Studies of the ions-surface interaction began in the middle of the last century, and this area of physics still continues to surprise with new discoveries and new opportunities for practical applications”, said Valery Kurnaev, head of the Plasma Physics Department at MEPhI, co-chair of the ISI-2019 conference. “So, several reports were devoted to the interaction of atomic particles with ice. Using methods such as the reflection of particles or their excitation of secondary radiation, it is possible to dramatically increase the efficiency of obtaining information in the study of Jupiter's moons, ice comets or the surface of other planets and asteroids. Another direction is related to the directed transformation under the influence of ions of the surface topography, just as wavy structures appear in sandy deserts under the influence of wind. Scientists have learned to create regular nanostructures on the surface using ion beams, which can be used in nanotechnology and microelectronics. Cluster ions, consisting of a large number of atoms, allow for ultra-fine adjustment of the surface structure.
Scientists note: application of the studies’ results of ions - surface interaction is constantly expanding in recent years. In addition to the already known possibilities for creating new semiconductors and heterostructures with ion beams, improving the strength and corrosion resistance of the workpieces, there are more and more applications related to the creation of biocompatible implants, control of properties of two-dimensional graphene layers, new coatings for nanophotonics – that is obtaining of substances with completely new functional properties.
Traditionally, a significant part of the reports was devoted to one of the key problems of creating a controlled fusion reactor: the problem of behavior and changes in the properties of exposed plasma materials of the first reactor wall. Scientists of MEPhI presented papers in almost all thematic sections, but most of them were devoted to works related to research in the field of CTF, micro- and nanoelectronics.
The programme of the conference included more than 180 reports on fundamental and applied aspects of the processes occurring during ion bombardment of solids. All reports published in three-volume collection released by MEPhI on the eve of the conference, 39 papers were selected for publication in physics journals.
On the eve of the conference, a traditional school where graduate students, postgraduate fellows, and young researchers had an opportunity to meet and interact with leading scientists from the field of ion-surface interactions.
