Direct formation of thin films and epitaxial overlayers at low temperatures using a low-energy (10-500 eV) ion beam deposition system

A low-energy ion beam deposition system has been developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and has been applied successfully to the growth of epitaxial films at low temperatures for a number of different elements. The deposition system utilizes the ion source and optics of a commercial ion implantation accelerator. The 35 keV mass- and energy-analyzed ion beam from the accelerator is decelerated in a four-element electrostatic lens assembly to energies between 10 and 500 eV for direct deposition onto a target under UHV conditions. Current densities on the order of 10 μA/cm2 are achieved with good uniformity over a 1.4 cm diameter spot. The completed films are characterized by Rutherford backscattering, ion channeling, cross-section transmission electron microscopy, and x-ray diffraction. The effects of substrate temperature, ion energy, and substrate cleaning have been studied. Epitaxial overlayers which show good minimum yields by ion channeling (3 to 4%) have been produced at temperatures as low as 3750C for Si on Si(100) and 2500C for Ge on Ge(100) at growth rates that exceed the solid-phase epitaxy rates at these temperatures by more than an order of magnitude