Study of ion beam induced mixing in Sn/Si system using electrical resistivity measurements

The ion-beam mixing of Sn thin film evaporated on silicon has been investigated by continuously measuring the electrical resistivity of the sample during irradiation by Kr ions. The resistivity results exhibit a tendency toward a saturation process and allow the determination of the critical dose corresponding to the total mixing condition. The variation of the volume fraction of intermixed atoms as a function of the ion dose has been deduced and compared with a semiempirical formula to explain the observed mixing kinetics. A linear dependence of the volume fraction of the intermixed atoms on the fluence is observed, which is a signature of recoil type mixing.