Ion-induced annealing and amorphization of isolated damage clusters in Si

The interaction between high-energy ion irradiation and pre-existing damage clusters dispersed in single-crystal Si is discussed. Silicon substrates were predamaged by low-dose 150 keV Au ions. Post-irradiation by 600 keV Kr2+ ions resulted in either damage annealing or damage accumulation, depending on the substrate temperature. The transition temperature between these two different regimes is 420 K. These data are discussed and compared with the ion beam induced epitaxy and amorphization of continuous surface amorphous layers.