Lamba, Tarundeep KaurTarundeep KaurLambaVashistha, TejasvaTejasvaVashisthaSingh, SharanjeetSharanjeetSinghSooraj, K. P.K. P.SoorajAugustine, SebinSebinAugustineRanganathan, RaghavanRaghavanRanganathanVayalil, Sarathlal KoyilothSarathlal KoyilothVayalilKumar, DileepDileepKumarRanjan, MukeshMukeshRanjan2025-11-262025-11-262026-01-3010.1016/j.physb.2025.4180662-s2.0-105022207857http://repository.iitgn.ac.in/handle/IITG2025/33515The spatial arrangement and morphology of metallic NPs critically influence performance in plasmonic and spintronic applications. Substrate topography, especially ion-irradiation induced ripple patterns, strongly affects NP nucleation, growth dynamics, and final geometry. For Ag-NPs on nanoripple silicon, assembly depends on deposition direction because the morphology is intrinsically asymmetric; GISAXS confirms one slope is steeper. Single-direction deposition promotes uniaxial, ellipsoidal Ag-NPs aligned in the ripple direction, whereas sequential deposition yields truncated NPs with more uniform spacing. GIWAXS indicates an FCC structure with preferred (111) and (200) orientations; d-spacings remain consistent at 0° and 90°, indicating structural stability. Molecular dynamics simulations support these findings, showing single-sided flux favors tilted, elongated growth, while sequential flux forms near-spherical NPs near ridge regions and distributes them across slopes. Together, experiment and simulation establish how coupling surface asymmetry with deposition geometry governs NP shape, ordering, and crystallinity, offering a substrate-guided route to engineering isotropic assemblies.falseAtomic process | GISAXS/GIWAXS | MD simulation | Nanoparticles | NanorippleArticle30 January 202604180660WOS:001627870000001