Ion beam deposited epitaxial thin silicon films

Deposition of thin films using low energy, mass-separated ion beams is a potentially important low temperature method of producing epitaxial layers. In these experiments silicon films were grown on Si (001) substrates using 10-200 eV ²⁸Si⁺ and ³⁰Si⁺ ions at substrate temperatures in the range 273-1073 K, under ultrahigh-vacuum conditions (deposition pressure < 2 ×10 ^-7Pa). The film crystalhnity was assessed in situ using medium energy ion scattering (MEIS). Films of crystallinity comparable to bulk samples were grown using 10-40 eV ²⁸Si⁺ and ³⁰Si⁺ ions at deposition temperatures in the range 623-823 K. These experiments confirmed the role of key experimental parameters such as ion energy, substrate temperature during deposition, and the surface treatment prior to deposition. It was found that a high temperature in situ anneal (1350-1450 K) gave the best results for epitaxial nucleation, whereas low energy (20-40 eV) Cl⁺ ion bombardment resulted in amorphous film growth. The deposition energy for good epitaxial growth indicates that it is necessary to provide enough energy to induce local mobility but not to cause atomic displacements leading to the buildup of stable defects, e.g. divacancies, below the surface layer of the growing film.