Fluence dependant formation of β-SiC by ion implantation and thermal annealing

The β-SiC nanocrystals were synthesized by the implantation of carbon ions (C-) into silicon followed by high-temperature annealing. The carbon fluences of 1 x 1017, 2 x 1017, 5 x 1017, and 8 x 1017 atoms/cm2 were implanted at an ion energy of 65 keV. It was observed that the average size of β-SiC crystals decreased and the amount of β-SiC crystals increased with the increase in the implanted fluences when the samples were annealed at 1100 C for 1 h. However, it was observed that the amount of β-SiC linearly increased with the implanted fluences up to 5 x 1017 atoms/cm2. Above this fluence the amount of β-SiC appears to saturate. The Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman Spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques were used to characterize the samples. (orig.)