Quantitative characterization of xenon bubbles in silicon: Correlation of bubble size with the damage generated during implantation

Making use of Fresnel fringe contrast under different focusing conditions in transmission electron microscopy (TEM), we present a detailed evaluation of the depth dependent size distribution of gas bubbles contained in a stationary profile of 40 keV Xe implanted in Si. Voids generated during sample preparation by ion milling were also characterized carefully. The largest bubbles, with mean and maximum sizes of 5 and 7 nm, respectively, were observed at depths <22 nm. However, the first 2 nm of the sample did not contain any bubbles. Towards the end of range the bubble size decreased rapidly. No bubbles were found beyond 45 nm (the minimum size of detectable bubbles was estimated to be about 1.8 nm). Some observations suggest that the bubbles were over-pressurized. The derived data could be converted to a depth dependence of the Xe concentration contained in bubbles, nXe,b. Comparison with the previously reported depth distribution of Xe measured by Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS), nXe,b turned out to be depth dependent, with a maximum of ∼28% in the region of maximum bubble size. nXe,b is shown to correlate closely with the damage density generated during Xe implantation. The findings lead to a model of bubble formation which involves the idea that the redistribution and transport processes initiated by ion impact take place mostly during the lifetime of the collision cascade.