A study was made of the defects which were formed by the implantation of B, N, Al and Ne ions into 6H-type material at room temperature or 650C. Multiple-energy implantation was used to obtain flat dopant profiles, and the samples were annealed at 1100 to 1750C for various times. Transmission electron microscopic analysis was carried out on cross-sectional samples, using weak-beam dark-field imaging conditions. All of the defects were of interstitial type (clusters or loops). A statistical analysis of digital images revealed the depth distribution of the defects, and these were compared with Monte Carlo simulations of the ion implantation process. It was shown that, when implanted at room temperature, the defect distributions followed damage profiles. That is, defects appeared in regions where atomic displacements occurred in the target. On the other hand, the defects which were found after implantation at 650C always mirrored the so-called range profile, before and after annealing. It was shown that a concentration threshold existed, below which no defect appeared. The results were explained in terms of point defect annihilation, clustering and dopant activation.

TEM Studies of the Defects Introduced by Ion Implantation into SiC. J.Grisolia, B.De Mauduit, J.Gimbert, T.Billon, G.B.Assayag, C.Bourgerette, A.Claverie: Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research B, 1999, 147[1-4], 62-7