Estimation of Spatial Extent of a Defect Cluster in Si Induced by Single Ion Irradiation

In order to estimate the spatial extent of a defect cluster in Si induced by single Ar ion irradiation, we analyzed the dependence of the series resistance of ion-irradiated Schottky diodes on the total ion dose. Ar ions were implanted into Si at 75 keV at doses ranging from 1010 ions/cm2 to 1015 ions/cm2 at room temperature. The series resistance increased abruptly between 1012 ions/cm2 and 1013 ions/cm2 by two orders of magnitude. The diameter of high-resistivity regions in Si induced by a single ion impact was 21 nm under our experimental conditions. We conclude that heavily damaged regions around amorphous cores are responsible for the high-resistivity regions.