Elastic properties of sub-stoichiometric nitrogen ion implanted silicon

Elastic properties of sub-stoichiometric nitrogen implanted silicon were measured with nanometer-resolution using contact resonance atomic force microscopy (CR-AFM) as function of ion fluence and post-annealing conditions. The determined range of indentation moduli was between 100 and 180 GPa depending on the annealing duration and nitrogen content. The high indentation moduli can be explained by formation of Si–N bonds, as verified by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.