Role of the recoil atom energy in the formation of radiation-induced defects in semiconductors under electron bombardment

Abstract

A comparative analysis of the formation of radiation-induced defects in semiconductors (silicon and silicon carbide are used as examples) under bombardment with electrons with energies of 0.9 MeV or higher is carried out. Experimental values of the rate of charge-carrier removal at electron energies of 0.9 MeV are less by an order of magnitude than at higher electron energies (6–9 MeV). The formation cross section for primary radiation defects (Frenkel pairs) in this range is almost energy-independent. It is suggested that the reason for this difference is the influence of the energy of primary knocked-out atoms. As the energy of these atoms increases, first, the average distance between genetically related Frenkel pairs increases, and, as a consequence, the fraction of pairs that are not recombined under bombardment increases. Second, the possibility of forming new, more complex, secondary radiation effects appears as the energy of the primary knocked-out atoms increases.