Influence of isotopic substitution and He coimplantation on defect complexes and voids induced by H ions in silicon

We present a detailed study of the comparative thermal evolutions of H- and D-related defects in silicon implanted with 2×10¹⁶0.3em0exH or D∕cm², or coimplanted with 0.25×10¹⁶0.3em0exHe∕cm² and 0.7×10¹⁶0.3em0exH∕cm², in both orders. By using ion channeling, positron annihilation spectroscopy, and Raman scattering spectroscopy, we found that hydrogen and deuterium interact remarkably differently with primary point defects. He post implantation is found to destroy vacancies highly passivated by hydrogen, whereas He preimplantation accelerates their evolution into atomically smooth internal surfaces. By comparing different systems, subtle points in the interactions between the implanted atoms and point defects are evidenced, and critical defect complexes involved in silicon blistering are identified. Finally, the origins of the isotopic and synergistic effects observed in low energy ion-induced silicon blistering are discussed.