Modification of Zn ion hot implanted Si by swift Xe ion irradiation

The single crystal CZ n-Si(1 0 0) substrates were implanted by ⁶⁴Zn⁺ ions with a fluence of 5 × 10¹⁶/cm² and energy of 50 keV to form Zn nanoparticle (NP). During implantation, the Si substrate the temperature was constant at about 350 °C. After that, the samples were irradiated at room temperature by 167 MeV ¹³²Xe²⁶⁺ ions with fluence at 7.5 × 10¹⁴/cm² at 45° incident angle. The sample surface topology before and after Xe ion irradiation was studied using scanning electron microscopy. Structural changes in pre-implanted and Xe ion irradiated samples were examined by transmission electron microscopy in cross-sectional mode. It was found that swift Xe ion irradiation results in arise of radiation-induce defect of different kind. Defect structure of Si substrate consists of small-angle boundaries, dislocation and interstitial type planar defects. After swift Xe ion irradiation the form change of Zn NPs and increase of the NP average size were observed.