Size distribution of end-of-range dislocation loops in silicon-implanted silicon

Abstract

The size and distribution of end-of-range dislocation loops in silicon implanted with 50 keV 1016 Si/cm2 and annealed at 750 °C for various times have been studied by transmission electron microscropy. The normalized distribution profile of the dislocation loops has been found to be invariant with time, based on density and size measurement. The profile is quite different from the conventional distribution profile of Oswald ripening in grain growth and precipitate coarsening. Measurement of the total number of interstitials bound in the extrinsic loops shows that the ripening is a conservative process. An explanation for the particular distribution profile is attributed to the stress field associated with the dislocation loops.