Damage of InP (110) induced by low energy Ar+ and He+ bombardment

Abstract

Plasma-induced surface damage of a III-V compound semiconductor, a problem associated with many device fabrication processes, is clarified with careful measurements of surface defect density induced by low energy ion bombardment of InP. In the study, n-and p-InP ͑110͒ surfaces were prepared by cleavage of InP in ultrahigh vacuum, and then bombarded as a function of ion type (He ϩ and Ar ϩ ͒, energy ͑5-100 eV͒, and fluence (10 12 -10 17 ions/cm 2 ). The dynamic process of surface Fermi level shifting induced by such bombardment was determined by in situ high-resolution x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and the data were then converted to information on surface defect formation. It was found that both He ϩ and Ar ϩ bombardment with the above conditions moved the Fermi levels of both n-and p-InP ͑110͒ surfaces towards 0.95 eV above the valence band maximum of InP. As expected, for the same bombardment energy, Ar ϩ caused more damage than He ϩ , and for the same ion type, the bombardment induced a surface defect density increasing with both ion energy and fluence. It was also found that the threshold condition for defect formation was a combined function of the impact energy of the incoming ion and the energy released during its neutralization.

Effect of Ar+, He+, and S+ Irradiation on n-InP Single Crystal

“…The irradiation of He + and Ar + ions on n-InP(100) damages the sensitive surface, which is estimated by calculating the binding energy changes of In3d 5/2 . The result is similar to the case of InP(110) [30], where no additional chemical components are observed in the XPS spectra. Figure 1 displays the effect of He + and Ar + ions irradiation on the n-InP(100) surface as a function of ion fluence at variable energies.…”

Investigation by EELS and TRIM simulation method of the interaction of Ar+ and N+ ions with the InP compound

“…The argon induced a physical damage on InP but without chemical reactivity [25,26]. On the other hand, the curve related to the effect of nitrogen ions on InP is of non-regular slope, because of the character of the chemical reactivity between the nitrogen and the indium in agreement with the results reported by other authors [27][28][29][30]. The action of Ar + or N + depends on the physical properties related to atomic displacement and relaxation phenomenon of the InP target.…”

Electrical characterization of 6H-SiC grown by physical vapor transport method

“…The effects were intensively studied in the case of III-V compound semiconductors and seemed to be relatively independent of experimental conditions and the kind of bombarded species demonstrating that induced defects were identical to grown-in defects. This is consistent with the fact that a production of intrinsic defects is possible since the maximum energy transfer of particles to host atoms exceeds the displacement energy threshold [18]. On the other hand, it is known that Ir introduced into the 4H-SiC crystal leads to a deep acceptor-like state.…”