Abstract
A new ion beam annealing phenomenon which occurs during room‐temperature irradiation of Si is discussed. The interaction of high‐energy ions with different damage morphologies is shown to depend on the detailed nature of the damage. This interaction leads to annealing when the damage consists only of simple types of defects, while irradiation of more complex damage morphologies can result in additional damage growth. A model is proposed which qualitatively accounts for the phenomenon.