The structural and optical properties of SI GaAs crystals implanted with Se, Si and Be ions have been studied. The implanted fluences ranged from 10(12) to 10(15) cm-2 at energies of 2.3 MeV (Be), 7 MeV (Si) and 10.9 MeV (Se), producing buried damaged layers centered at a depth of about 3 mum. Changes in the lattice constant were measured by XRD and the corresponding strain and damage profiles were determined and correlated with estimates of damage obtained from the results of channeling-RBS measurements. Both photolumineSCence and Raman measurements were used to probe the damage as a function of depth with the aid of a shallow bevel produced by chemical etching. All measurements indicate a maximum of damage around 3 mum. Except for a region at the end of range, the crystal structure of p+ Be-doped GaAs has recovered its original quality upon annealing.