Focused ion beam implantation of Ga in Si and Ge: fluence‐dependent retention and surface morphology

Focused ion beam implantation of 30‐keV Ga⁺ ions in single‐crystalline Si and Ge was investigated by SIMS, using Cs⁺ primary ions for sputtering. Nine different implantation fluences ranging from 1 × 10¹³ to 1 × 10¹⁷ Ga⁺‐ions/cm² were used, with implanted areas of 40 × 40 µm². The Ga concentration distributions of these implants were determined by SIMS depth profiling. Such 30‐keV Ga implantations were also simulated by a dynamic Monte‐Carlo code that takes into account the gradual change of the near‐surface composition due to the Ga incorporation. In both approaches, an essentially linear increase of the Ga peak concentrations with fluence is found up to ～1 × 10¹⁶cm^?2; for higher fluences, the Ga content approaches a saturation level which is reached at about (1–2) × 10¹⁷cm^?2. The measured and simulated peak concentrations of the Ga distributions are in good agreement. The most probable ranges obtained from the experiments correspond closely with the respective values from the simulations. The surface morphology caused by Ga⁺ implantation was investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The AFM data indicate that for low fluences (<3 × 10¹⁵cm^?2) the surface within the implanted areas is growing outward (i.e. is swelling). For increasingly higher fluences, sputter‐induced erosion of the surface becomes dominant and distinct craters are formed for fluences above ～1 × 10¹⁶cm^?2. At the boundary of the implanted region a wall‐like structure is found to form upon Ga implantation; its height is growing with increasing fluence, reaching a value of ～15 nm at 1 × 10¹⁷ Ga⁺‐ions/cm². Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.