COMPETITION BETWEEN ION BEAM INDUCED EPITAXIAL CRYSTALLIZATION AND AMORPHIZATION IN SILICON

Abstract

The transition from ion induced epitaxial crystallization to planar amorphization of a preexisting amorphous layer in silicon has been investigated. The conditions for dynamic equilibrium at the transition were determined for different ion species as a function of dose rate and temperature. The critical dose rate for equilibrium varies exponentially with 1/T, exhibiting an activation energy of approximately 1. 2 eV. Furthermore, for different ions, the critical dose rate is inversely proportional to the square of the linear displacement density created by individual ions. This second order defect production process and the activation energy, which is characteristic of divacancy dissociation, suggest that the accumulation of divacancies at the amorphous/crystalline interface controls the balance between crystallization and amorphization. Show more