Thermodynamic and Structural Properties of Mev Ion Beam Amorphized Silicon

Abstract
Thermodynamic and structural properties of amorphous Si (a-Si), prepared by MeV 28Si+-ion implantation are investigated by differential scanning calorimetry, Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. The influence of thermal annealing below 500 °C on a-Si is investigated with these different probes. The observed changes result from structural relaxation. Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction show that structural relaxation is accompanied by changes in the average atomic structure.