Li, Zheng FengWong-Leung, JenniferDeenapanray, PrakashConway, MartinChivers, DFitz Gerald, JohnWilliams, James2015-12-130168-583Xhttp://hdl.handle.net/1885/93644Ion implantation into Si has been used to produce near-surface, amorphous Si-N layers with the nitrogen content both below and exceeding Si3N4 stoichiometry. Iron has been introduced into some of these layers to study the effect of Fe on subsequent crystallisation to α-Si3N4. Rutherford backscattering and channeling, X-ray diffraction and cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy have been used to analyse these implanted samples before and after annealing to 1000°C. These results provide considerable insight into M-Si3N4 formed by another non-equilibrium mixing process, namely reactive ball milling or mechanochemistry.Keywords: Mechanochemistry; Amorphous films; Amorphous silicon; Annealing; Ball milling; Crystal defects; Crystallization; Ion implantation; Iron; Nitrogen; Semiconducting silicon compounds; Silicon nitride; Stoichiometry; Semiconducting films Ball-milling; Defects; Ion-implantation; Silicon nitride19992015-12-12