As an ion travels through the
target it undergoes a series of nuclear collisions and transfers its energy to
the target atoms. As the binding energy lattice site is only 10-20 eV, it is
easy to displace the target atom making it a second projectile. After many ions
have been implanted, an initial crystalline structure is changed to a highly
disordered state.
If the target temperature is
high enough self-annealing will occur and hence repair some or all of the
damage as it is generated. Thus the result is temperature dependent. [3]
Amount of damage depends on the
following factors:
Once target atoms have been
displaced the following can take place [2]:
Fig. 5 A plot of the dose
required to form an amorphous layer on silicon versus reciprocal target
temperature. Arsenic falls between phosphorus and antimony. [3]