Comparison between the reversal temperature of IBIEC–IBIIA transition and critical temperatures of damage formation in ion irradiated InP and InAs

Abstract

The critical temperature of damage formation in crystalline semiconductors, TC, and the reversal temperature TR of the ion beam induced epitaxial crystallization (IBIEC)–ion beam induced interfacial amorphization (IBIIA) transition are studied for ion irradiated InP and InAs. It is shown that both temperatures, TC and TR, depend on the number of primary displacements per ion and unit depth, N∗displ, and on the dose rate j according to (N∗displ)2j∼exp(−Ea/kTC/R). That means this relation which was first derived to explain TR data of ion irradiation into amorphous/crystalline interfaces in Si, holds well to describe the critical temperature of damage formation in crystalline semiconductors, too. The values of Ea estimated from the dependences of TC and TR given above are almost the same. This is related to the fact that both processes are dominated by the thermal mobility of point defects. TC was found to be always less than TR, i.e., amorphization at an amorphous crystalline interface proceeds at somewhat higher temperatures where amorphization of crystalline material is no longer possible.