Defect production and recombination during low-energy ion processing

摘要

Low-energy ion processing produces damaged, microroughened semiconductor surfaces due to the production of point defects. The authors present a study of point defect production and annealing on the Ge(001)-2x1 surface during low-energy inert ion bombardment as a function of ion energy, ion mass and substrate temperature. Ion-induced surface point defect production was quantified experimentally in real time using in situ Reflection High Energy Electron Diffraction. The observed surface defect yield decreased abruptly around room temperature as the substrate temperature was increased from 175 K to 475 K. The authors have developed Monte Carlo simulations of defect diffusion to model defect recombination both in the bulk and on the surface. Bulk defect production statistics generated by a binary collision simulator, TRIMRC, were coupled with our bulk diffusion simulator to predict the number of ion-induced surface defects. A comparison between the experimental results and the simulation predictions indicated that defects produced in the bulk may represent a significant contribution to the observed surface defect yield and suggested that TRIMRC may overestimate the depth distribution of the defects. The simulations further indicated that the abrupt drop in the experimental yield with increasing substrate temperature does not arise from bulk defect recombination. The Monte Carlo simulations of surface diffusion (applicable to any crystalline surface) support a defect annealing mechanism (at low ion fluxes) that involves surface recombination of defects generated within a single cascade.