Damage annealing behavior of 3 MeV Si + -implanted silicon

Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy has been used to study the recrystallization behavior of a buried amorphous layer in 3 MeV Si⁺-implanted (100) silicon at a dose of 5×10¹⁵ cm^-2. The lower (deeper) amorphous/crystalline (a/c) interface is found to be more abrupt compared to the upper (closer to the surface) a/c interface. During recrystallization similar rates of advancement of the two a/c interfaces are observed. V-shaped dislocations are observed in the completely recrystallized layer. The defect density in the upper recrystallized region is found to be higher than that in the lower recrystallized region. These observations are correlated with the shape of the damage profile. The secondary defects grown at higher temperatures (>750 °C) are found to be very stable and difficult to anneal out. The overall recrystallization behavior of the buried amorphous layer is found to be similar to that of lower energy implants.