Tunable ion-swelling for nanopatterning of macroscopic surfaces: The role of proximity effects

► Utilizing ion irradiation and nanosphere lithography to induce local swelling on Si. ► Pattern height and curvature were tailored by the mask and irradiation parameters. ► Proximity exposure effect calculations to predict the radial ion fluence distribution. ► Good agreement between AFM profiles and ion fluence distributions. ► Surface profiles were predicted for several particle shapes, sizes, and ion energies.