Comparative study of the effect of swift heavy ion irradiation at 500 °C and annealing at 500 °C on implanted silicon carbide

Abstract

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Raman spectroscopy and Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry (RBS) were used to characterize polycrystalline SiC specimens individually implanted with 360 keV I⁺ or Kr⁺ ions at room temperature and thereafter either irradiated with 167 MeV Xe to a fluence of 5 × 10¹³ cm⁻² at 500 °C or annealed at 500 °C under vacuum. Implantation of I and Kr resulted in an amorphous layer about 196 and 230 nm from the surface respectively. Randomly oriented SiC nanocrystallites nucleated and grew within the layer after both treatments. These nanocrystallites were more pronounced on the SHI irradiated at 500 °C as compared to the annealed samples. Raman results supported these observations. No diffusion or redistribution of the implanted ion species could be detected by RBS.