Iron implantation into Si using a metal vapor vacuum arc ion source was performed at various temperatures to synthesize nm-scale β-FeSi2 precipitates in Si. Transmission electron microscopy results showed that for high-temperature-implanted samples, there were a large number of dislocation loops formed. For intermediate-temperature-implanted samples, only a row of dislocation loops located at the end of implantation range was observed. For low-temperature-implanted samples, however, no dislocation loops were observed at all. From the differences in the photoluminescence spectra, in conjunction with the transmission electron microscopy results, the origins of the photoluminescence peaks in different samples could be distinguished and identified to be from β-FeSi2 precipitates or from crystal defects in the samples.

Effect of Implantation Temperature on Dislocation Loop Formation and Origin of 1.55µm Photoluminescence from Ion-Beam-Synthesized FeSi2 Precipitates in Silicon. Y.Gao, S.P.Wong, W.Y.Cheung, G.Shao, K.P.Homewood: Applied Physics Letters, 2003, 83[1], 42-4