A study was made of blistering and exfoliation at the surface of crystalline material, of the evolution of defects and strains caused by H and He co-implantation and of the formation of platelets and bubbles. It was shown that H+ and He+ co-implantation had a synergistic effect which greatly decreased the total implantation dose, as compared with just H+ or He+ implantation. It was concluded that the essential role of H was to interact chemically with defects and create H-stabilized platelets. The role of He was to diffuse into these platelets and exert a pressure on their inner surfaces. The damage which was caused by co-implantation was lower than that caused by H implantation (at the dose required for exfoliation).

Defects and Strain in Hydrogen and Helium Co-Implanted Single-Crystal Silicon. X.Duo, W.Liu, S.Xing, M.Zhang, X.Fu, C.Lin, P.Hu, S.X.Wang, L.M.Wang: Journal of Physics D, 2001, 34[1], 5-11