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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 17 March 2011
High-quality crystalline Si1-xGex (x=0.10 and 0.25)alloys were implanted with 70 keV Er+ ions at temperatures of350°C and 550°C to a fluence of 1015 cm−2. In-situRutherford backscattering/channeling (RBS) analysis supplemented withtransmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed that as-implanted alloys werein form of ternary solid solutions with a peak Er concentration of 1 at.%without any trace of Er-Si or Er-Ge precipitation.
In the samples implanted at 350°C Er atoms were found to be distributedrandomly in the amorphous host matrix. Post-implantation annealing atdifferent temperatures up to 600° showed that the solid phase epitaxialregrowth of the damaged layers strongly depends on both the Ge concentrationin the alloys and the temperature of annealing. Along with therecrystallization of the damaged matrix, annealing was observed to inducesimultaneous removal of nearly all the implanted Er as the recrystallizationfront progresses towards the surface.
In contrast, high temperature implantation at 550°C led to spontaneousrecovery of the alloy crystallinity and incorporation of considerablefraction of implanted Er atoms on regular tetrahedral interstitial sites inthe host lattice.