Structural distorsions in silicon after ion bombardment at 600-1100 deg C

Transmission electron microscopy method has been employed to study the defect formation in silicon bombarded by ions of mass from 4 to 209 a.u. at temperatures Ti=600-1100 deg. Variations are observed in the character of the defect formation between light (He+, B+, N+) and heavy (Ar+, BF2+, Ga+, Xe+, Bi+) ions. The difference in the character of damage for heavy and light ions is attributed to the dependence of the probability of formation of dislocation loop nuclei on the displacement peak density. Effective life times of knocked-out atoms τe are determined from the loop growth rates. It is shown that with growing mass and ion energy decrease τe decreases, which is associated with growing probability of the defect recombination inside the peaks and near the surface