X-ray scattering study of hydrogen implantation in silicon

The effect of hydrogen implantation in silicon single crystals is studied using high-resolution x-ray scattering. Large strains normal to the sample surface are evidenced after implantation. A simple and direct procedure to extract the strain profile from the scattering data is described. A comparison between different crystallographic orientation of the implanted silicon surface is then presented, namely, for ⟨100⟩, ⟨110⟩, and ⟨111⟩ orientations, showing a dependence that can be related to bond orientation. Effect of annealing on the stressed structure is finally described.