On the stability of β-SiC with respect to chemical disorder induced by irradiation with energetic particles

X-ray diffraction measurements of changes in the long-range structural order of beta -SiC thin films have been performed during irradiation with energetic ions at low temperature. The decrease in both the chemical and the topological order was analysed in situ using the superstructure (002) and the fundamental (004) reflections of the zincblende-type structure, in a dose range up to complete amorphization. The data indicate that the crystalline-to-amorphous transition is a continuous process rather than a sudden collapse of a defective crystal structure and that, in contrast with previous assumptions, beta -SiC remains stable with respect to amorphization up to a high degree of chemical disorder.