Microstructural study of dynamically annealed c-Si using MeV N+ ions

Single crystalline Si(1 0 0) substrates were irradiated with 1.0 MeV N+ ions at elevated temperature to synthesize silicon on insulator materials and to understand the nature of the amorphous region and the defect layer. The RBS-channeling spectra show a sharp amorphous–crystalline interface at a depth of ∼500 nm, around half of the mean projected range (Rp). Beyond the Rp a heavily damaged layer has been observed. Micro-Raman spectra show the development of a large amount of stress in the damage free crystalline region. The variation of peak position and FWHM indicates that the surface crystalline quality improves as the implantation temperature increases up to 450 °C. The microstructures underneath the surface and interface regions are studied by cross-sectional TEM. We proposed that the ratio of the concentration of vacancies (Nv) and number of nitrogen atoms (NN) coming to rest beyond Rp plays a major role in the formation of damage free near surface region during high temperature implantation.