Ion irradiation induced nucleation and growth of nanoparticles in amorphous silicon carbide at elevated temperatures

Ion irradiation induced crystallization in as-deposited amorphous SiC films is investigated using grazing-angle incidence x-ray diffraction (GIXRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Raman spectroscopy. Irradiation with 5 MeV Xe to fluence of 1.15 × 1016 Xe/cm2 at 700 K results in a homogenous distribution of 3C-SiC grains with an average crystallite size of ∼5.7 nm over the entire film thickness (∼1 μm). The nucleation and growth processes exhibit a weak dependence on dose in displacements per atom (dpa) in the range from ∼6 dpa at the film surface to ∼20 dpa at the SiC/Si interface. A transformation of homonuclear C-C bonds from sp3 to sp2 hybridization is observed in the irradiated films, which may be partly responsible for the observed grain size saturation. The results from this study may have a significant impact on applications of SiC as structural components of advanced nuclear energy systems.