The recrystallization of ion-implanted silicon layers. II: Implant species effect.

Abstract

Rutherford back scattering and channeling (RBS) has been employed to investigate the annealing characteristics of ion-bombarded ( 111 ) silicon for a wide range of implant species. The general recrystallization behavior is that high levels of remnant disorder are observed for high-dose (typically > 10 15 ions cm -2) implants of all species investigated. And transmission electron microscopy indicates the presence of a polycrystalline reordered layer in such cases. The magnitude of the remnant disorder (misorientation of g rains with respect to the underlying bulk substrate) is observed to increase with both implant dose and original amorphous-layer thickness and to exhibit a slight implant mass dependence. A though the recrystallization behavior is qualitatively similar for all species studied, certain species (mainly those soluble in Silicon) are found to influence the regrowth process at low implant concentrations. It is suggested that stress/strain effects, attributed to high implanted concentrations, play a major role in the inhibition of epitaxial Silicon recrystallization but that species effects can become dominant at lower implant concentrations.