Electron irradiation dilatation in SiO2

Abstract
Negative dilatation (shrinkage) induced by 10‐keV electron bombardment of SiO2 films thermally grown on Si has been studied. Measured deflection changes in continuous SiO2 bridges etched following irradiation showed a maximum shrinkage of [inverted lazy s] 0.8%, which occurred at 0.2 C/cm2, followed by a slight expansion, and subsequent saturation at higher exposures. Exposures up to 3 C/cm2 were utilized. Isochronal annealing studies show the activation energy for recovery to be approximately 1 eV with 2% recovery occurring in 1 h at 400°C.