Temperature dependence of ion-induced auger electron emission from (111) silicon: I. Experiments

Abstract

Measurements of both secondary electron emission coefficient γ and SiL₂₃ Auger yield ρ_A obtained from (111) Si target bombarded by high fluence of noble gas ions were performed. For Si irradiated at room temperature at doses more than 10¹⁷ ions per cm², monotonous increasing variation of γ and ρ_A versus incidence angle i was observed. For Si irradiated at a temperature more than a critical value, γ(i) and ρ_A(i) curves exhibited, superimposed to monotonous variation, some minima when the ion beam penetrates the crystal along low index directions. In the range 20–650°C, the Auger yield temperature dependence showed a sharp variation around a critical value depending on the ion mass for a given incident energy. These results are linked to an amorphous-crystalline phase transition.