High power pulsed ion beams have been applied to anneal nickel thin films on silicon. RBS and TEM have been performed to study ion beam induced effects. With Ba+ ion beams at energy densities greater than 0.7 J/cm2 and H+ beams above about 1.3 J/cm2, cellular structures were found. At about 0.6 J/cm2 for Ba+ (about 1.0 J/cm2 for H+), epitaxial NiSi2 was formed. At lower energy densities, polycrystalline layers containing a mixture of silicide phases were observed. With ion beam annealing, melting starts at the Ni/Si interface and epitaxy was found at energy densities well below that required to melt Ni or crystalline Si.

We present a first He ion channeling study on thermal stability (under isochronal vacuum furnace annealing at 300-650°C) of metastable solid solution phases produced by pulsed ruby laser treatment of Al implanted with Cr and Mo. Laser treated Cr exhibits strong redistribution inferred to be due to intermetallic phase precipitation which appears to be enhanced by quenched-in defects. In contrast, laser treated Mo shows no redistribution but only a loss of substitutionality. Instead of annealing, thermal treatment produces an increase in host dechanneling yield for all laser treated samples. Detailed comparison with thermal recovery of as implanted phases demonstrates the key role played by quenched-in defects.

We present a comparative study (by 1.8 MeV 4He+ ion channeling) of virgin, self and Eu implanted single crystals of nickel, under irradiation with single ruby laser pulses. The as implanted Eu is nearly non-substitutional and remains so, even after laser treatment. The comparative defect dechanneling behaviour provides explicit evidence of defect-impurity interaction which may be suppressing the formation of an expected metastable solid solution in the Eu-Ni system, which possesses miscibility in the liquid phase. A clear surface Eu peak appears at 2.1 J/cm2.

This paper reviews areas under investigation within DoD involving the application of ion implantation to problems in wear, friction, corrosion, and fatigue. Specific results on the modification of metal fatigue in Ti turbine blade alloys and the modification of sliding wear of steels are reviewed and discussed in terms of the mechanisms which are thought to be acting to improve the metal properties.

The potential for reducing indirect manufacturing costs and the challenge to improve component performance justify active consideration of ion implantation in industrial metal processing. The need for interaction between the scientific community and the industrial community is shown with specific examples of methods employed by Westinghouse for accelerating this interaction.

A review of implantation activities at Westinghouse include basic technology studies, equipment considerations, material evaluation capabilities, factory trial results, and some of the planned areas of future interest. The preferred characteristics of targets of opportunity are identified and needed advances in technology and equipment are discussed.

One of the areas of interest in the ion-beam modification of materials is that of alteration of specifically mechanical properties. To this end a method has been developed allowing in situ investigation of the stress, Young's modulus and mechanical hysteresis of small samples during and following ion-implantation. The samples are typically in the form of ~ 2 mm ⨉ 2 mm squares a few thousand angstroms thick, deposited on a ~ 50µ thick metal support, and forming a mechanical marginal oscillator. The measurement is carried out by flexing the samples at ~ 500 Hz under a servo-stabilized sinusoidal strain with a peak value in the range 0 to ~ 10−3. The accuracy of the method is typically ~ 1% or better for the measured quantities.

Results are presented showing strain dependent (nonlinear) mechanical effects, thermal annealing effects, ion implantation of boron into copper and ion-beam mixing of copper films on aluminum substrates.

To measure the mechanical properties of ion implanted layers special microhardness tests with penetration depths less than 100 nm have been made. The results show that increases in hardness of up to 50 % may occur in a number of metals as a result of nitrogen ion implantation. Considerable carbon is also present in the implanted surfaces and when in the form of a distinct layer, may give an apparent softening of surfaces at high doses.

Photographic images can be stored in ferroelectric-phase lead lanthanum zirconate titanate (PLZT) ceramics using a novel photoferroelectric effect. These images are nonvolatile but erasable and can be switched from positive to negative by application of an electric field. We have found that the photosensitivity of ferroelectric PLZT is dramatically improved by ion implantation into the surface exposed to image light. For example, the intrinsic photosensitivity to near-UV light is increased by as much as four orders of magnitude by coimplantation with Ar and Ne. The increased photosensitivity results from implantation-induced decreases in dark conductivity and dielectric constant in the implanted layer. Furthermore, the increased photoferroelectric sensitivity has recently been extended from the near-UV to the visible spectrum by implants of Al and Cr. Ion-implanted PLZT is the most sensitive, nonvolatile, selectively-erasable image storage medium currently known.

The rapid annealing of implant damage using thermal radiation has been shown to be a production-worthy method of achieving good activation and minimal dopant redistribution of implanted species. The method involves the shuttered exposure of a standard 3" or 4" silicon wafer to a uniform thermal radiation front produced by a graphite heater for short times (10–30 sec). The propagation of residual damage observed by TEM is significantly less than that produced by furnace annealing and device structures annealed have electrical characteristics comparable to standard furnace anneals.

Cross-sectional and plan view transmission electron microscopy and high resolution scanning electron microscopy have been used to characterize the microstructure of silicon-on-insulator formed by high dose oxygen ion implantation. The complete microstructure was observed to be composed of a series of distinct zones. The top silicon layer was {100} single crystal with a very low dislocation density. The second layer was a mixture of fine grained polysilicon and amorphous SiO2. The third layer was pure SiO2 , followed by a second mixed layer. Finally, there was a layer of {100} silicon with an extremely high dislocation density. Some of the dislocations extended as far as 1 μm into the Si substrate. The relative widths of the layers were found to depend on the total ion fluence. The oxide layer did not occur for low doses and the two mixed layers merged into one zone. At high doses, the silicon-silicon dioxide interfaces are abrupt due to internal oxidation.

Elastic recoil detection techniques have been used to measure hydrogen isotope profiles in fused silica implanted with 20 keV H and/or D ions. Saturation is obtained for both H and D implantations at a concentration of 2.2 × 1021 ions/cm3. H and D exchange are observed for saturated samples subsequently implanted with a different H isotope. A previously developed local mixing model of H-trapping has been extended to include retrapping and beam-induced detrapping for application to these studies. This theoretical analysis provides a good fit to the H/D saturation and isotope exchange behavior. Isochronal annealing shows that both H and D are released in a single stage centered about 550°C.

Ion-implantation of graphite is characterized with respect to lattice damage and the distribution of implanted ions. Both the depth profile of the implanted ions and of the lattice damage are shown to follow the models previously developed for ion-implanted semiconductors. Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) is used to monitor the implantation profile. The surface damage is examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) while microcrystalline regions in an amorphous background are observed by scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM).

Raman spectroscopy is used in a variety of ways to monitor different aspects of the lattice damage caused by ion implantation into graphite. Particular attention is given to the use of Raman spectroscopy to monitor the restoration of lattice order by the annealing process, which depends critically on the annealing temperature and on the extent of the original lattice damage. At low fluences the highly disordered region is localized in the implanted region and relatively low annealing temperatures are required, compared with the implantation at high fluences where the highly disordered region extends all the way to the surface. At high fluences, annealing temperatures comparable to those required for the graphitization of carbons are necessary to fully restore lattice order.

Carbon films were deposited on silicon, quartz, and potassium bromide substrates from an ion beam. Growth rates were approximately 0.3 μm/hour. The films were featureless and amorphous and contained only carbon and hydrogen in significant amounts. The density and carbon/hydrogen ratio indicate the film is a hydrogen deficient polymer. One possible structure, consistent with the data, is a random network of methylene linkages and tetrahedrally coordinated carbon atoms.