Influence of radiation damage on xenon diffusion in silicon carbide

Diffusion of xenon in poly and single crystalline silicon carbide and the possible influence of radiation damage on it are investigated. For this purpose 360 keV xenon ions were implanted in commercial 6H-SiC and CVD-SiC wafers at room temperature, 350 °C and 600 °C. Width broadening of the implantation profiles and xenon retention during isochronal and isothermal annealing up to temperatures of 1500 °C was determined by RBS-analysis, whilst in the case of 6H-SiC damage profiles were simultaneously obtained by α-particle channelling. No diffusion or xenon loss was detected in the initially amorphized and eventually recrystallized surface layer of cold implanted 6H-SiC during annealing up to 1200 °C. Above that temperature serious erosion of the implanted surface occurred, which made any analysis impossible. No diffusion or xenon loss is detected in the hot implanted 6H-SiC samples during annealing up to 1400 °C. Radiation damage dependent grain boundary diffusion is observed at 1300 °C in CVD-SiC.