Investigation of structural distorsions of near the surface layers of silicon single crystals after reactive ion-beam etching

Asymptotic Bragg diffraction method has been employed to study the influence of reactive ion-beam etching on the crystalline structure of the transitional region hetween the amorphous film and the perfect matrix in Si(111) single crystals. It has been shown that the thickness and structural parameters of the disturbed transitional layer depend on the ion beam current density magnitude. Distorsions of the crystalline structure parameters along the sample surface propagate in depth to 3.5 nm, and in the direction perpendicular to the crystal surface they reach 23-34 nm, depending on the etching regimes