Recrystallization Kinetics of 3 C Silicon Carbide Implanted with 400 keV Cesium Ions

Polycrystalline 3 C silicon carbide ( SiC ) was implanted at room temperature with 400 keV cesium ions to a dose of 10 16 ions/cm 2 . The samples were annealed at 600°C–1000°C for times up to 48 h to observe changes in the implantation zone crystallinity and density. The implanted regions were characterized by transmission electron microscopy ( TEM ) and secondary ion mass spectroscopy ( SIMS ) before and after annealing. It is shown that the implantation resulted in a 217 ± 2 nm amorphous region with microstructural damage extending to ~250 nm below the surface. Recrystallization of the amorphous region was observed to begin at 725°C. Densification was determined indirectly through changes in the measured implantation zone thickness. Measurable thickness, or densification, of the implanted region was not observed until temperatures greater than ~800°C. The SiC recrystallization began at the interface between the amorphous, damaged region, and the underlying polycrystalline material. Image analysis was used to quantify the fraction of crystalline phase as a function of time and temperature. The recrystallization kinetics exhibited Arrhenius dependency with an apparent activation energy of 480 kJ/mol. SIMS demonstrated that 60%–70% of the cesium was retained within the recrystallized microstructure after thermal annealing.