Nucleation of damage centres during ion implantation of silicon

Pulsed ion beam measurement of defect diffusion lengths in irradiated solids

Radiation-generated point defects in solids often experience dynamic annealing-diffusion and interaction processes after the thermalization of collision cascades. The length scale of dynamic annealing can be described in terms of the characteristic defect diffusion length (Ld). Here, we propose to measure Ld by a pulsed beam method. Our approach is based on the observation of enhanced defect production when, for individual ion pulses, the average separation between adjacent damage regions is smaller than Ld. We obtain a value for Ld of ~30 nm for float-zone Si crystals bombarded at room temperature with 500 keV Ar ions.

The Crystalline-To-Amorphous Phase Transition In Irradiated Silicon

The amorphous(a)-to-crystalline (c) phase transition has been studied in electron(e-) and/or ion irradiated silicon (Si). The irradiations were performed in i n the Argonne High Voltage Microscope-Tandem Facility The irradia ion of Si, at <10 K, with 1-MeV e- to a fluence of 14 dpa failed to induce the c-to-a transition. Whereas an irradiation, at <10 K, with 1.0 or 1.5-MeV Kr+ ions induced the c-to-a transition by a fluence of ≈0.37 dpa. Alternatively a dual irradiation, at 10 K, with 1.0-MeV e and 1.0 or 1.5-MeV Kr+ to a Kr+ fluence of 1.5 dpa -- where the ratio of the displacement rates for e- to ions was ≈0.5--resulted in the Si specimen retaining a degree of crystallinity. These results are discussed in terms of the degree of dispersion of point defects in the primary state of radiation damage and the mobilities of point defects.