Spatial distribution, build-up, and annealing of radiation defects in silicon implanted by high-energy krypton and xenon ions

An x-ray diffraction study of defect formation in silicon irradiated by Kr⁺ (210 MeV, 8×10¹²−3×10¹⁴ cm⁻²) and Xe⁺ (5.6 BeV, 5×10¹¹−5×10¹³ cm⁻²) ions is reported. It has been established that irradiation produces a defect structure in the bulk of silicon, which consists of ion tracks whose density of material is lower than that of the host. The specific features of defect formation are discussed taking into account the channeling of part of the ions along the previously formed tracks and the dominant role of electron losses suffered by the high-energy ions. It is shown that the efficiency of incorporation of stable defects by irradiation with high-energy ions is lower than that reached by implanting medium-mass ions with energies of a few hundred keV. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 40, 1627–1630 (September 1998)     

Resistance changes in thin metallic films under ion bombardment

Resistance changes in thin films of copper, aluminium and bismuth have been studied under the bombardment of nitrogen, carbon and argon ions. Variations in resistance with implantation dose have been observed upto doses of ∼ 3 × 10¹⁷ ions/cm² for ion energies in the range 40 to 120 keV. The results are discussed in terms of desorption of gases from the film and a composite action of sputter removal of the film and its structural changes upon ion bombardment. A simple theoretical model is discussed which can qualitatively explain the experimental observations.     

Radiation damage of material surfaces under prolonged irradiation with He+ and Ar+ ions with broad energy spectra

The results of studying the redistribution of Be, Al, Ti, Fe, Cu, Zr, Mo, and W atoms incorporated in polycrystalline metal samples under irradiation with He⁺, (He⁺ + Ar⁺), and Ar⁺ ion beams with a broad energy spectrum and an average energy of 10 keV at irradiation doses of 1 × 10²¹ ion/cm² are studied. It is discovered that irradiation at doses exceeding 1 × 10¹⁹ ion/cm² results in local small-crystal formations being produced in a near-surface substrate layer. Their typical dimensions are less than 1–5 μm, and their the density is up to 1–100. They contain incorporated atoms and impurity atoms with a concentration of 0.1–10 at %. Subsequent irradiation at a dose of 1 × 10²⁰ ions/cm² or more leads to disappearance of these formations, mainly because of sputtering processes.     

Fluence dependant formation of <Emphasis Type="Italic">β</Emphasis>-SiC by ion implantation and thermal annealing

The β-SiC nanocrystals were synthesized by the implantation of carbon ions (C⁻) into silicon followed by high-temperature annealing. The carbon fluences of 1×10¹⁷, 2×10¹⁷, 5×10¹⁷, and 8×10¹⁷ atoms/cm² were implanted at an ion energy of 65 keV. It was observed that the average size of β-SiC crystals decreased and the amount of β-SiC crystals increased with the increase in the implanted fluences when the samples were annealed at 1100 °C for 1 h. However, it was observed that the amount of β-SiC linearly increased with the implanted fluences up to 5×10¹⁷ atoms/cm². Above this fluence the amount of β-SiC appears to saturate. The Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman Spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques were used to characterize the samples.     

Photoionization spectra of silver atoms adsorbed on the surface of a ZnS single crystal

We have used photostimulated flash luminescence to study deep electronic states arising when silver ions Ag⁺ are deposited under high vacuum onto the surface of a ZnS single crystal, followed by creation of the conditions for neutralization of the silver ions. The flux density of the silver ion beam was 10⁷ cm⁻²·sec⁻¹. We have observed the appearance of two types of deep electronic states with photoionization energies 1.60 eV and 1.80 eV, arising after depositing the silver ions onto the surface of the ZnS single crystal. We have hypothesized that there may be two different preferred sites for adsorption of silver atoms on the zinc sulfide surface. The corresponding photoionization spectra of the adsorbed silver atoms have maxima at 775 nm and 690 nm. __________ Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 73, No. 3, pp. 335–338, May–June, 2006.     

Blistering of rhenium irradiated with 21keV helium ions

This paper describes blistering of rhenium following 21 keV He⁺-ion irradiation at temperatures between 300 K and 1200 K. Blistering starts at 300 K at a dose of 3×10¹⁷ ions/cm². The most probable blister diameter varies from 4400 ? at 300 K to 10100 ? at 1200 K. The blister depth τ _bl , the blister diameter φ _bl and the blister heighth _bi show a distribution. From the observations one could derive the following relationships:h _bl = 0.35φ _bl ; τ _bl =3.43φ _bl ^2/3 . The erosion yieldE _y due to blistering is function of doseE _y =0.51 atoms/ion at 3×10¹⁷ ions/cm²,E _y =0.56 atoms/ion at 6×10¹⁷ ions/cm² andE _y =0.14 atoms/ion at 3×10¹⁸ ions/cm². The sputtering yieldS (21 keV) is estimated to be ∼0.1 atom/ion. The corresponding surface regression is 44? at 3×10¹⁷ ions/cm² and 1323 ? at 9×10¹⁸ ions/cm². Surface regression has therefore little influence on the observations at low doses. Work performed at the Mathematicals Science Department of S.C.K./C.E.N. at Mol (Belgium)     

Raman scattering in a near-surface n-GaAs layer implanted with boron ions

Structure in the Raman scattering spectra of near-surface n-GaAs layers (n=2×10¹⁸ cm⁻³) implanted with 100 keV B⁺ ions in the dose range 3.1×10¹¹–1.2×10¹⁴ cm⁻² is investigated. The qualitative and quantitative data on the carrier density and mobility and on the degree of amorphization of the crystal lattice and the parameters of the nanocrystalline phase as a result of ion implantation are obtained using a method proposed for analyzing room-temperature Raman spectra. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 41, 1495–1498 (August 1999)     

Initial stages of formation of a Yb-Si(111) interface

The initial stages of formation of an Yb-Si(111) interface are investigated by several methods: thermal desorption spectroscopy, atomic beam modulation, and low-energy electron diffraction. The structure of the adsorbed films and ytterbium silicide films is analyzed over a wide range of surface coverage ratios, along with the desorption kinetics of Yb atoms. The desorption activation energies of Yb atoms are measured for 3×2, 5×1, and 2×1 submonolayer structures. The temperature interval in which ytterbium silicide decomposes and the activation energy of this process are determined. It is shown that the Yb-Si(111) phase interface evolves by a mechanism similar to the Stransky-Krastanov mechanism. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 39, 256–263 (February 1997)     

Plasma plume induced during laser ablation of graphite

The plasma plume induced during ArF laser ablation of a graphite target is studied. Velocities of the plasma expansion front are determined by the optical time of flight method. Mass center velocities of the emitting atoms and ions are constant and amount to 1.7×10⁴ and 3.8×10⁴ m s⁻¹, respectively. Higher velocities of ions result probably from their acceleration in electrostatic field created by electron emission prior to ion emission. The emission spectroscopy of the plasma plume is used to determine the electron densities and temperatures at various distances from the target. The electron density is determined from the Stark broadening of the Ca II and Ca I lines. It reaches a maximum of ∼9.5×10²³ m⁻³ 30 ns from the beginning of the laser pulse at the distance of 1.2 mm from the target and next decreases to ∼1.2×10²² m⁻³ at the distance of 7.6 mm from the target. The electron temperature is determined from the ratio of intensities of ionic and atomic lines. Close to the target the electron temperature of ∼30 kK is found but it decreases quickly to 11.5 kK 4 mm from the target.     

Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) studies of argon ion induced desorption of carbon from tantalum

AES studies of argon ion induced desorption of carbon from tantalum were performed. The carbon adlayer was allowed to adsorb from a well characterized residual gas atmosphere, that was unvarying within 20%. The argon ions impact on the surface at an angle of 60° from the surface normal with energies between 0.2 to 1.0 keV. The total desorption cross section values measured under these conditions are 0.07–1.1 × 10^?15 cm².     

Electron-stimulated desorption of negative O? ions from the oxidized O/Ru surface

This paper reports on a study of the electron-stimulated desorption of negative oxygen ions from the O/Ru surface, which represents an additional factor responsible for the destruction of the protective oxide layer of the mirrors used in ultraviolet lithography. The cross section of degradation of the O/Ru layer due to the electron-stimulated desorption of the O⁺ and O⁻ ions and the O atoms has been found to be 1.6 × 10⁻¹⁹ cm². A comparison of the dependences of the electron-stimulated desorption yield of O⁺ and O⁻ ions on the incident electron energy E with the ionization cross section of the adsorbate core level σ _O2s (E) has revealed that the ionization of the O 2s level is the main channel of the electron-stimulated desorption of O⁻ ions.     

Electron-stimulated desorption of sodium atoms from oxidized molybdenum

The time-of-flight technique combined with a surface-ionization-based detector has been used to investigate the yield and energy distribution of sodium atoms escaping in electron-stimulated desorption (ESD) from adlayers on the surface of molybdenum oxidized to various degrees and maintained at T=300 K as functions of incident electron energy and surface coverage by sodium. The sodium-atom ESD threshold is about 25 eV, irrespective of sodium coverage and extent of molybdenum oxidation. Molybdenum covered by an oxygen monolayer exhibits secondary thresholds at ∼40 eV and ∼70 eV, as well as low-energy tailing of the energy distributions, its extent increasing with surface coverage by sodium Θ. The most probable kinetic energies of sodium atoms are about 0.23 eV, irrespective of the degree of molybdenum oxidation and incident electron energy at Θ=0.125, and decrease to 0.17 eV as the coverage grows to Θ=0.75. The results obtained are interpreted within a model of Augerstimulated desorption, in which adsorbed sodium ions are neutralized by Auger electrons appearing as the core holes in the 2sO, 4sMo, and 4pMo levels are filled. It has been found that the appearance of secondary thresholds in ESD of neutrals, as well as the extent of their energy distributions, depend on surface coverage by the adsorbate. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 40, 768–772 (April 1998)     

Stimulation of secondary negative ion emission by implantation of alkaline ions into the surface layer of a solid followed by heating

A new method of stimulating secondary negative ion emission is suggested that is based on implantation of alkaline ions into the surface layer of a solid with subsequent heating to a temperature providing optimal coverage of the surface (about half a monolayer) by activator (alkaline) ions. It is shown that, by appropriately selecting the implantation dose (10¹⁸–10¹⁹ cm⁻³) and surface temperature (500–900°C), one can reach such a degree of coverage of the sample surface by activator ions that its work function eφ becomes minimal: 1.9 eV for molybdenum and 2.1 eV for copper. It is found that, with the implantation (irradiation) dose and surface temperature chosen properly, one can, by means of outdiffusion of cesium atoms, achieve such a degree of surface coverage that remains unchanged during the continuous sputtering of the surface by a cesium ion beam.     

Adsorption and desorption of hydrogen on bare and Xe-covered Cu(111)

Using polarization-modulated ellipsometry to monitor adsorbate coverage in-situ, we studied the activated adsorption of filament-heated molecular hydrogen on Cu(111) and subsequent isothermal desorption of hydrogen adatoms. The adsorption is characterized by a zeroth-order kinetic with a constant sticking probability of S₀=0.0062 up to θ=0.25, followed by a Langmuir kinetic until the saturation coverage θ_s=0.5 is reached. The desorption follows a second-order kinetic with an activation energy of 0.63 eV and a pre-exponential factor of 1×10⁹ /s. A pre-adsorbed monolayer of Xe atoms on Cu(111), with a desorption activation energy of 0.25 eV and a pre-exponential factor of 8×10¹⁴ /s, efficiently blocks the subsequent adsorption of hot molecular hydrogen, making physisorbedXe useful as templates for spatial patterning of hydrogen adatom density on Cu(111). PACS 68.43.Jk; 78.68.+m; 81.15.-z; 82.40.Np     

Electron-stimulated desorption of potassium and cesium atoms from an oxidized molybdenum surface

The yield and energy distributions of potassium and cesium atoms emitted in electron-stimulated desorption (ESD) from a molybdenum surface, oxidized to different extent and maintained at 300 K, have been measured by the time-of-flight technique with a surface ionization detector. The ESD threshold for potassium and cesium atoms lies around 25 eV, irrespective of molybdenum oxidation state. In the case of molybdenum coated by an oxygen monolayer, secondary thresholds at ∼40 and ∼70 eV have been observed, as well as atomic energy distribution tailing down to very low energies. The most probable kinetic energies of the atoms are a few tenths of one eV. The results are explained within a model involving Auger neutralization of the adsorbed alkali metal ions after the filling of the 2s O, 4s Mo, and 4p Mo core holes. The possibility of ESD of a neutral species as a result of oxide-cation core-level ionization has been demonstrated for the first time. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 39, 758–761 (April 1997)     

Formation of ordered helium pores in amorphous silicon subjected to low-energy helium ion irradiation

Thin transparent (for transmission electron microscopy, TEM) self-supported Si(001) films are irradiated on the (110) end face by low-energy (E=17 keV) He⁺ ions at doses ranging from 5×10¹⁶ to 4.5×10¹⁷ cm⁻² at room temperature. The TEM study of the irradiated Si films along the ion range shows that an a-Si layer forms in the most heavily damaged region and helium pores (bubbles) with a density of up to 3×10¹⁷ cm⁻³ and 2–5 nm in diameter nucleate and grow across the entire width of this layer. The growth of nanopores in the a-Si layer is accompanied by their linear ordering into chains oriented along the ion tracks. The absence of pores in the region that remains crystalline and has the maximal concentration of implanted helium is explained by the desorption of helium atoms from the thin film during the irradiation. After annealing at 600°C, the volume of immobile pores in the remaining a-Si layer increases owing to the capture of helium atoms from the amorphous matrix. Solid solution is shown to be the prevalent state of the helium implanted into the amorphous silicon. Linear features with a diameter close to 1 nm and density of about 10⁷ cm⁻¹ discovered in the helium-doped a-Si layer are identified as low-energy He⁺ ion tracks.     

Formation of excited states of atoms and ions in laser plasma from CuInS2

Emission spectra and the energy distribution of the excited-state population density of atoms and ions in erosion laser plasma from CuInS₂ with various crystal-structure orderings are analyzed. It is shown that increased ordering of the target crystal structure causes the excited-state energies of indium atoms generated in the laser erosion plume to increase and that sulfur atoms always emit only in transitions from highly excited states. The ratio of relative ion concentrations in the laser plasma plume is Cu⁺/In⁺/S⁺ = 0.3/0.08/2, which corresponds neither to the atomic ratio of Cu/In/S (1/1/2) in the target nor to the ratio of ionization energies. The results are explained by recombination processes for ions and by the atomization specifics of the CuInS₂ target exposed to long-wavelength radiation. The atomization consists essentially of dissociative processes expressed by CuInS₂ → CuInS + S and CuInS₂ → Cu + InS + S. The electron temperature of polycrystal (single-crystal) plasma at a distance of 1 mm from the target is 0.3 eV (0.4 eV) for atoms and 1.3 eV (2.7 eV) for ions and varies negligibly for plasma up to a distance of 7 mm from the target. __________ Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 75, No. 2, pp. 217–223, March–April, 2008.     

Study of optical band gap and carbon cluster sizes formed in 100 MeV Si8+ and 145 MeV Ne6+ ions irradiated polypropylene polymer

A wide variety of material modifications in polymers have been studied by using ion irradiation techniques. Extensive research has focused on to Swift Heavy Ions (MeV’s energy), probably because of good controllability and the large penetration length in polymers. High energy ion irradiation tends to damage polymers significantly by electronic excitation and ionization. It may result into the creation of latent tracks and can also cause formation of radicals such as ablation, sputtering, chain scission and intermolecular cross-linking, creation of triple bonds and unsaturated bonds and loss volatile fragments. Polypropylene polymer films of thickness 50 μm were irradiated to the fluences of 1 × 10¹⁰, 3 × 10¹⁰, 1 × 10¹¹, 3 × 10¹¹, 6 × 10¹¹ and 1 × 10¹² ions/cm² with Si⁸⁺ ions of 100 MeV energy from Pelletron accelerator at Inter University Accelerator Centre (IUAC), New Delhi and Ne⁶⁺ ions of 145 MeV to the fluences of 10⁸, 10¹⁰, 10¹¹, 10¹² and 10¹³ ions/cm³ from Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre, Kolkata. Optical modifications were characterized by UV towards the red end of the spectrum with the increase of the fluence. Value of optical band gap E _g shows a decreasing trend with ion fluence irradiated with both kinds of ions. Cluster size N, the number of carbon atoms per conjugation length increases with increasing ion dose. Cluster size also increases with the increase of electronic stopping power.      

Dynamics of the transformation of bistable centers and lattice in CdF<Subscript>2</Subscript> crystals under femtosecond pulsed photoexcitation

The kinetics of photoinduced absorption spectra of CdF₂ crystals with bistable indium and gallium centers under femtosecond pulsed excitation has been experimentally investigated. Based on the example of indium ions, it is shown that the transmission band in the absorption spectrum of deep centers is formed for 0.8–1 ps, which significantly exceeds the photon absorption time. This process is interpreted as a result of displacement of indium ion from the initial interstitial position to a site of neighboring unit cell; the displacement velocity is estimated to be 200–250 m/s, a value close to the thermal velocity of this ion at room temperature. The times characteristic of the formation of free polarons as a result of the displacement of neighboring lattice ions have been experimentally estimated for the first time at a level of 0.8–1.2 ps. The capture times of free polarons by trivalent gallium and indium ions are estimated (5 and 10 ps, respectively), as well as the corresponding cross sections (2 × 10⁻¹⁶ and 8 × 10⁻¹⁶ cm²).     

Spectroscopic studies of copper and carbon ion irradiated polypropylene

The samples of polypropylene (PP) have been irradiated with 120 MeV ⁶⁴Cu⁹⁺ and 70 MeV ¹²C⁵⁺ ion beams, with the fluence ranging from 1 × 10¹³ to 1 × 10¹¹ ions/-cm⁻². UV-VIS and FTIR techniques have been used to study the chemical and optical properties of these irradiated polymers. UV spectra revealed that the optical-gap energy decreases by 54 % with copper ion irradiation at the fluence of 1 × 10¹³ ions/cm², whereas at the same fluence, carbon beam decreases the optical-gap energy by 20%. FTIR analysis of ion irradiated samples revealed the presence of -OH, C = O and C = C bonds. Alkyne formation has been observed only in the case of copper ion irradiation.