High-resolution electron microscopy of Si cones formed on Ar+-bombarded Si wafers

Conical Si projections generated on Si wafers bombarded with obliquely incident Ar⁺ ions were studied by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The cones were composed of an [111]-oriented bulk phase covered with a disordered thin layer, but the bulk phase was not perfectly ordered, containing an amorphous domain underneath the outermost area. Such a multi-phase structure is inexplicable in terms of ion erosion, suggesting interplay of the redeposition of sputtered Si atoms on the bombarded area with the ion-erosion process so as to promote cone evolution. The cones were also characterized by the development of web-like platelets at their acute angles, an indication of a crystal growth process involved in the surface phenomenon observed.     

Roughness evolution of Si surfaces upon Ar ion erosion

We studied the roughness evolution of Si surfaces upon Ar ion erosion in real time. Following the theory of surface kinetic roughening, a model proposed by Majaniemi was used to obtain the value of the dynamic scaling exponent β from our data. The model was found to explain both the observed roughening and the smoothening of the surfaces. The values of the scaling exponents α and β, important for establishing a universal model for ion erosion of (Si) surfaces, have been determined. The value of β proved to increase with decreasing ion energy, while the static scaling exponent α was found to be ion energy independent.     

AES investigations of Ar+ ion retention in Si during Ar sputtering

Argon retention in silicon has been studied by AES in the energy range between 1 and 15 keV at bombardment fluences up to ～10¹⁸ ions/cm². AES data of implanted argon in silicon near the surface region, as obtained during sputtering, can be interpreted qualitatively by a simple model of ion collection. Discrepancies between calculated and measured saturation values of collected argon ions indicate that during implantation at high fluences addition surface effects become important and that the simple model of ion collection has to account for this. Quantitative AES correlated with RBS indicates pronounced concentration gradients of argon in silicon near surface regions.     

Features of the pattern formed on a ferrite-garnet surface under swift-energy Ar+-ion irradiation

The topography of a ferrite-garnet surface irradiated with swift-energy Ar⁺ ions is studied. It is shown that the ion-beam incidence angle is the main parameter determining the features of the pattern. It is revealed that a ripple structure with crests perpendicular to the beam projection turns into a structure with crests oriented along the beam projection with increasing incidence angle. The angle at which the pattern appears and the angle of the transition from one form of the pattern to the other differ from that calculated by the Bradley-Harper theory. The transition of the ripple structure with crests along the beam projection to that oriented perpendicular to the beam direction is observed upon irradiation near the critical angle with increasing irradiation dose.     

3 to 15 keV Ar+ induced Auger electron emission from Si and Ar

Ar⁺ induced Auger electrons from Si and Ar were investigated at bombardment energies between 3–15 keV and target currents of a few μA. The Auger electron yields were compared with secondary ion yields of Si and Ar by simultaneous SIMS-AES measurements. In the ion induced Auger spectra of Si five Auger peaks and in the Ar spectra three Auger peaks were observed. The ion induced Auger electron yield of Si and Ar were found to be strongly dependent upon the primary ion energy. “Bulk like” and “atomic like” Auger transitions of ion induced Auger electrons of Si were observed.     

Boron electrical activation in dual B+ + N+ + and B+ + Ar+ ion-implanted silicon

Silicon wafers were implanted with 40 keV B⁺ ions and then with 50 keV N⁺ or 100 keV Ar+ ions to doses from 1.2 x 1014 to 1.2 x 1015 cm^–2. The implanted samples were studied using the Hall effect and standard van der Pauw methods. The dependences of the sheet resistivity and the sheet concentration of charge carriers on the annealing temperature in the range from 700 to 1300 K were obtained. Models describing the influence of additional implantation of nitrogen and argon ions on the process of boron electrical activation during annealing are proposed.     

Electronic structure of Si(111) surfaces

We report on new angle-resolved photoemission studies of Si(111) 2 × 1 and 7 × 7 surfaces. The emission from the 2 × 1 surface shows much structure. For normal emission the energy positions are insensitive to the photon energy in the range 19–27 eV. The emission has been interpreted as a probe of the surface density of states, SDOS, including both surface states, resonances and bulk-like states. The SDOS was also calculated as a function of parallel momentum k_∥ for a model of the Si(111) 2 × 1 surface obtained from energy minimization considerations. We identify emission from the dangling bond band, which has a positive dispersion of 0.6 eV, and also emission from surface resonances which have some character of the compressed and stretched back bonds. There are also other predicted surface resonances that correspond to experimental peaks which have not been identified in previous work. Except for the dangling bond band, the surface resonances are limited in k_∥ space, so that it is not possible to follow these resonance bands over all angles. Maximum intensity for the normal emission from the dangling bond is obtained at 23 eV, while the emission from the lowest s-like states monotonically increases towards 30 eV photon energy. When annealing the cleaved 2 × 1 surface to the 7 × 7 reconstructed surface, the spectra broaden significantly. The intensity of the dangling bond decreases and we see a very small metallic edge.     

Low energy Ar ion bombardment damage of Si,GaAs, and InP surfaces

Argon bombardment damage to (100) surfaces of Si, GaAs, and InP for sputter ion-gun potentials of 1, 2, and 3 kilovolts was studied using Rutherford backscattering. Initial damage rates and saturation damage levels were determined. Bombardment damage sensitivity increased for the sequence Si, GaAs, and InP. Saturation damage levels for Si and GaAs correspond reasonably to LSS projected range plus standard deviation estimates; damage to InP exceeded this level significantly. For an ion-gun potential of 3 keV, the initial sputter yield of P from an InP surface exceeded the sputter yield of In by four atoms per incident Ar projectile.     

Electronic structure of H chemisorbed on Si(111) surfaces

We study the electronic density of states of hydrogen chemisorbed (111) Si surface. We analyse two situations: one single chemisorbed hydrogen atom in an otherwise clean surface and a complete monolayer of hydrogen chemisorbed at the surface. The method of calculation is based on an extension of the cluster-Bethe lattice approximation developed by the authors to study surfaces. Our results for the monolayer are in good agreement with UPS data, as well as with other theoretical calculations.     

Sputter damage in Si surface by low energy Ar+ ion bombardment

The damage distributions in Si(1 0 0) surface after 1.0 and 0.5 keV Ar⁺ ion bombardment were studied using MEIS and Molecular dynamic (MD) simulation. The primary Ar⁺ ion beam direction was varied from surface normal to glancing angle. The MEIS results show that the damage thickness in 1.0 keV Ar ion bombardment is reduced from about 7.7 nm at surface normal incidence to 1.3 nm at the incident angle of 80°. However, the damage thickness in 0.5 keV Ar ion bombardment is reduced from 5.1 nm at surface normal incidence to 0.5 nm at the incident angle of 80°. The maximum atomic concentration of implanted Ar atoms after 1 keV ion bombardment is about 10.5 at% at the depth of 2.5 nm at surface normal incidence and about 2.0 at% at the depth of 1.2 nm at the incident angle of 80°. However, after 0.5 keV ion bombardments, it is 8.0 at% at the depth of 2.0 nm for surface normal incidence and the in-depth Ar distribution cannot be observable at the incident angle of 80°. MD simulation reproduced the damage distribution quantitatively.     

200 nm-1000 nm spectra of light emitted in the impact of ~(40)Ar~(10+) upon Al and Si solid surfaces

This paper reports the measured results of the 200 nm-1000 nm characteristic spectral lines of Al, Si and Ar atoms when highly charged ions 40Ar10+ are incident upon Al and P-type Si surfaces. The ion 40Ar10+ is provided by the ECR ion source of the National Laboratory of the Heavy Ion Accelerator in Lanzhou. The results show that when the low-speed ions in the highly charged state interact with the solid surfaces, the characteristic spectral lines of the target atoms and ions spurted from the surfaces can be effectively excited. Moreover, because of the competition of the non-radiation de-excitation of the hollow atom by emitting secondary electrons with the de-excitation process by radiating photons, the spectral intensity of the characteristic spectral lines of Ar atoms on the P-type Si surface is, as a whole, greater than that of Ar atoms on the Al surface.     

Atom scattering from disordered surfaces: calculations for a model of a Xe + Ar mixed overlayer

Exact quantum-mechanical calculations are present for He scattering from one-dimensional models of disordered, mixed Xe + Ar overlayers. A time-dependent wavepacket approach is used with a recent technique for solving the Schrödinger equation. Results are given for several overlayers of different Xe : Ar concentration ratios. The dependence of scattering intensities on the disordered structures is discussed. The results provide a reference for testing approximations for scattering from disordered surfaces.     

He and Ar post-bombardment effects on carbonitrides formed in a Cr-rich steel

The effects of He and Ar bombardment on carbon produced in a N-implanted Cr-rich steel are studied by means of conversion electron Mössbauer spectroscopy, glancing X-ray and nuclear reaction analysis techniques. The results show two main features: dissolution and reprecipitation of the produced carbonitrides and modification of the thermal behavior of the precipitates. Comparison with similar experiments performed on Fe and on low-carbon steel show that the matrix composition plays an important role in the above processes.     

Nanostructures on GaAs surfaces due to 60 keV Ar+-ion beam sputtering

The effect of 60 keV Ar⁺-ion beam sputtering on the surface topography of p-type GaAs(1 0 0) was investigated by varying angle of incidence of the ion (0–60°) with respect to substrate normal and the ion fluence (2 × 10¹⁷–3 × 10¹⁸ ions/cm²) at an ion flux of 3.75 × 10¹³ ions/cm²-s. For normal incidence and at a fluence of 2 × 10¹⁷ ions/cm², holes and islands are observed with the former having an average size and density of 31 nm and 4.9 × 10⁹ holes/cm², respectively. For 30° and 45° off-normal incidence, in general, a smooth surface appears which is unaffected by increase of fluence. At 60° off-normal incidence dots are observed while for the highest fluence of 3 × 10¹⁸ ions/cm² early stage of ripple formation along with dots is observed with amplitude of 4 nm. The applicability and limitations of the existing theories of ion induced pattern formation to account for the observed surface topographies are discussed.     

Ge diffusion on Si surfaces

Ge diffusion on Si(100), (111), and (110) surfaces has been studied by Auger electron spectroscopy and low energy electron diffraction in the temperature range from 600 to 800 °C. Surface diffusion coefficients versus temperature have been measured.     

Ar16+和Ar17+离子与Zr作用产生的X射线谱

将超导离子源提供的10-20keV/q Ar16 和Ar17 离子入射到Zr金属表面,在相互作用中产生的X射线谱表明,高电荷态Ar16 离子在金属表面中性化过程中有可能存在多电子激发,使Ar16 的K壳层电子被激发形成空穴,在退激过程中发射特征Kα-X射线.空心原子Ar的K层发射X射线强度随入射离子的动能而减弱,靶原子Zr的L壳层发射X射线强度随入射离子动能的增加而增强.Ar17 的单离子的Kα-X射线产额比Ar16 单离子的Kα-X射线产额大5个数量级.     

Indium-induced superstructures formed on Si(1 1 0) surfaces

Si(1 1 0) surfaces covered with small amounts of In deposit and then annealed at high temperature were investigated by RHEED, and two kinds of superstructures with A = 3a and B = −a + 4b, and A = 3a − 2b and B = −2a + 4b as primitive translational vectors are reported to form on the surfaces.     

Light emitting diode structure based on Si nanocrystals formed by implantation into thermal oxide

Light emitting diodes (LED), continuously operable at room temperature, have been fabricated by Si⁺ ion implantation into SiO₂ and subsequent annealing in order to form Si nanocrystals. A highly doped poly-Si layer was used to enhance injection into nanocrystals. Visible electroluminescence (EL) was observed from the LEDs with oxide thickness 180 Å for bias voltages above 8 V. The EL decay transient was similar to stretched-exponential decays observed for photoluminescence (PL) from Si nanocrystals.