Ion-beam induced crystallization and amorphization of silicon.

Thin amorphous silicon layers can be produced in crystalline silicon substrates by ion-implantation. Subsequent ion-irradiation at elevated temperatures can induce such layers to either crystallize epitaxially or increase in thickness, layer by layer. This paper examines these processes and their dependence on substrate temperature and ion-irradiation parameters. It is shown that both processes, epitaxial crystallization and layer-by- layer amorphization, are controlled by ion-beam induced defect production at, or near, the crystalline/amorphous interface.