Post-annealing recrystallization and damage recovery process in Fe ion implanted Si

We have investigated ion-beam-induced and thermal annealing-induced microstructures in high fluence Fe implanted Si using transmission electron microscopy. Si(1 1 1) substrates were irradiated with 120 keV Fe ions at 120 K to fluences of 0.4 × 1017 and 4.0 × 1017 cm−2. A continuous amorphous layer was formed on Si substrates in both as-implanted samples. After thermal annealing at 1073 K for 2 h, β-FeSi2 fine particles buried in a polycrystalline Si layer were observed in the low fluence sample, while a continuous β-FeSi2 layer was formed in the high fluence sample. We discuss the relationship between ion fluence and defects recovery process in Fe ion implanted Si.