Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 February 2011
Silicon wafers with and without protective1Ahermil oxide were implanted with oxygen at 150keV with doses 1.6 – 2.0×1018 cm−2. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) were used to study the top silicon layer remaining above the implanted buried oxide. regular array of spheroidal voids filled with oxygen gas was observed only in the samples that were not protected by the oxide. The voids were aligned into individual columns whose crystallographic orientation with respect to the host silicon lattice matched the direction of the implantation. The origin and the kinetics of their formation are discussed.