It was recalled that it had been suggested that atomically-clean flat crystalline surfaces could be obtained by means of low-energy (0.1 to 1keV) oblique-angle (more than 45º off-normal) Ar-ion bombardment at around 500C. The procedure was applied here to a multiple B δ-doped structure. This led to massive relocation of sub-surface doping atoms, due to the associated injection of point defects into the bulk. This greatly affected the usefulness of the proposed method, and showed that it was unwise to base claims of quality improvement only upon results which had been obtained using surface-sensitive analytical techniques.

Low-Energy Grazing-Angle Argon-Ion Irradiation of Silicon P.C.Zalm, J.A.Van den Berg, J.G.M.Van Berkum, P.Bailey, T.C.Q.Noakes: Applied Physics Letters, 2000, 76[14], 1887-9