The effects of swift heavy-ion irradiation on helium-ion-implanted silicon

Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (XTEM) was used to study the effects of irradiation with swift heavy ions on helium-implanted silicon. 〈1 0 0〉-oriented silicon wafers were implanted with 30 keV helium to a dose of 3 × 1016 He+/cm2 at 600 K. Subsequently, the helium-implanted Si wafers were irradiated with 792 MeV argon ions. The He bubbles and extended defects in the wafers were examined via XTEM analysis. The results reveal that the mean diameter of the He bubbles increases upon Ar-ion irradiation, while the number density of the He bubbles decreases. The microstructure of the He bubbles observed after Ar-ion irradiation is comparable to that observed after annealing at 1073 K for 30 min. Similarly, the mean size of the extended defects, i.e., Frank loops, increases after Ar-ion irradiation. Possible mechanisms are discussed.