Kinetics of ion-beam-induced interfacial amorphization in silicon

This article reviews modeling and experimental results of ion-beam-induced interfacial amorphization (IBIIA) in silicon. It is shown that this process differs from the well-known bulk amorphization with regard to the critical energy density approach and the evolution of the roughness of the amorphous/crystalline interface during ion irradiation. IBIIA depends on the substrate temperature, ion flux, and nuclear energy deposition at the amorphous/crystalline interface, which is discussed in detail. Within this scope, new results about the temperature and ion Aux dependence of IBIIA are presented that cannot be explained by previous models. Therefore, a new model based on ballistic transport effects that allows one to understand experimental results at low temperatures is proposed. According to this concept IBIIA is controlled by three processes interacting at the amorphous/crystalline interface: an athermal ion-beam-induced defect generation, a thermally activated recombination of defects, and an athermal transport of defects towards the amorphous/crystalline interface as a result of ballistic processes. It is speculated that these defects are mainly interstitials and vacancies involved in those processes. (C) 1997 American Institute of Physics.