A method for the determination of the depth distribution of light elements in heavy materials is described. It involves the detection of light elements recoiling under the bombardment by a 35Cl beam. A resolution of 300 Å was achieved for the lithium present in a thin sample. The measures were done with layers of 1016 atoms/cm2 and it is estimated that quantities as small as 1014 atoms/cm2 can be located without much difficulty.
In this work, we investigate the origin of a giant isotope effect discovered in the blistering of hydrogen-ion-implanted and annealed silicon. Si(001) samples were implanted or co-implanted with 5 keV of H and/or D ions to total fluences of 2 x 10(16) and 6 x 10(16) ion/cm(2). The lower fluence is sufficient for blistering by pure H, but the higher one is required for the maximum blister coverage whenever D is involved. On these samples, we carried out Raman-scattering investigations of the evolution of Si-H/D complexes upon a stepwise thermal annealing from 200 to 550 degrees C. We have identified the critical chemical transformations characterizing the hydrogen-deuterium-induced blistering of silicon. The puzzling dependence on ion mass appears to be mainly connected with the nature of the radiation damage. We have found that H is more efficient in "preparing the ground" for blistering by nucleating platelets parallel to the surface, essentially due to its ability to agglomerate in the multihydride monovacancy complexes that evolve into hydrogenated extended internal surfaces. By contrast, D is preferentially trapped in the surprisingly stable monodeuteride multivacancies.
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