Structural studies on ion implanted semiconductors using x-ray synchrotron radiation: strain evolution and growth of nanocrystals

X-ray synchrotron radiation is a very powerful tool in structural analysis of solids. Due to its extremely high intensity and low angular divergence synchrotron radiation allows the study of structures that otherwise are impossible. Here the typical studies on different semiconductor materials using various methods of synchrotron x-ray scattering are presented.
Ion implantation in compound semiconductors is a quite complicated process leading to some usually detrimental effects like buildup of damage and strain. In the case of InP produced strain is rather low and is hardly accessible by the conventional x-ray analysis. InP single crystals implanted with different doses of 1.2 MeV As+ ions were studied. It was found that implanted layers are under tensile stress, which relaxes upon prolonged storage at RT.
Another important issue is the analysis of nanocrystals. Diamond-SiC heterostructures produced by ion beam synthesis are considered as a promising technique for production of novel devices for high power applications. Synthesized by ion bombardment nanocrystals that grow in the single crystalline matrix are highly oriented. As revealed by x-ray scattering size and shape of nanocrystals, as well as incorporated strain depend on the ion implantation parameters.