Atomic mixing of silver into a silicon substrate using a 45 keV beam of Ar + ions

Abstract

In separate experiments, Si substrates were coated with Ag layers of thickness ranging from 219 Å to 371 Å. These were then irradiated with 45 keV Ar + ions, producing Ag-Si mixing, together with surface erosion by sputtering. The successive internal Ag profiles were measured by RBS techniques, and are presented graphically up to a maximum fluence of 1.85 × 10 16 ions cm −2. A corresponding set of profiles has been computed using a diffusion formalism for atomic mixing developed earlier by the authors. A critical comparison between the theoretical and experimental results is given.