Transmission electron microscopy was used to investigate 11B, 12C, 14N, 27Al, 28Si and 37Ar ion-implanted 4H-SiC epilayers, and subsequent defect formation after high-temperature annealing. During annealing, extrinsic dislocation loops of interstitial type were formed on the SiC basal plane with a depth distribution which roughly corresponded to the distribution of implanted ions. The investigation revealed that, in samples where the implanted ions were substituted at a position in the Si sub-lattice (generating an excess of interstitial Si), the dislocation loops were more readily formed than in a sample which was implanted with an ion that substituted for C.

On the Nature of Ion Implantation Induced Dislocation Loops in 4H-Silicon Carbide. P.O.Å.Persson, L.Hultman, M.S.Janson, A.Hallén, R.Yakimova, D.Panknin, W.Skorupa: Journal of Applied Physics, 2002, 92[5], 2501-5