Isotope and crystal orientation effects in low-energy H/D blistering of Si

In this letter we report a giant isotope effect in silicon blistering induced by low-energy (5 keV) H or D ion implantation and annealing. Atomic force microscopy and thermal desorption spectroscopy revealed abundant blistering and exfoliation with a D fluence of 6×1016 D cm−2, whereas no blistering was observed with a H fluence up to 1×1017 H cm−2. This is accompanied by premature H2 release, and the evidence suggests that inefficient defect trapping is the cause. The blister density and the degree of exfoliation also depend strongly on the crystal orientation.