Investigation by ellipsometry of the damage in GaAs bombarded with low-energy Ar ions

The crystalline-amorphous transition in GaAs induced by Ar ions (energy 1–3 keV) has been investigated using single-wavelength ellipsometry. The experiments have been performed in-situ at room temperature. Ion damage straggling, amorphization threshold and critical energy density have been derived by means of a simple analytical model for the growth of the amorphous layer. This model is discussed and the corresponding calculations are found to be in satisfactory agreement with experimental data.