The evolution of {311} defects and dislocation loops in the end-of-range damage region of material which had been amorphized by ion implantation was studied by means of transmission electron microscopy. The amorphization of a (100) n-type Czochralski wafer was achieved by the implantation of 20keV Si+ ions to a dose of 1015/cm2. Post-implantation annealing (750C, 600s to 10h) was performed in a furnace. After annealing for 600s, the microstructure exhibited a collection of {311} defects and small dislocation loops. The evolution of a specific group of defects was monitored by repeated imaging of the same region after additional annealing. Quantitative transmission electron microscopy showed that the {311} defects followed one of 2 possible evolutionary pathways during annealing. These were: unfaulting to form dislocation loops or the dissolution and release of interstitials. The results indicated that, within this temperature range, {311} defects were the preferential sites for dislocation loop nucleation.

Annealing Kinetics of {311} Defects and Dislocation Loops in the End-of-Range Damage Region of Ion Implanted Silicon L.S.Robertson, K.S.Jones, L.M.Rubin, J.Jackson: Journal of Applied Physics, 2000, 87[6], 2910-3