Multimodal impurity redistribution and nanocluster formation in Ge implanted silicon dioxide films

The depth distribution of Ge implanted into thermally grown SiO2 films has been studied after annealing using transmission electron microscopy, Rutherford backscattering spectrometry, and x-ray diffraction. At annealing temperatures above 900 degrees C a significant redistribution of the as-implanted Ge profile was found. Crystalline Ge nanoclusters embedded in the SiO2 matrix are formed within a cluster band with well defined boundaries. The evolution of nanoclusters can be explained qualitatively by a model based on nucleation, growth and Ostwald ripening of Ge precipitates. Besides, chemical and interface reactions lead to the formation of additional Ge peaks near the surface and at the Si/SiO2 interface. (C) 1997 American Institute of Physics.