Formation of epitaxial -Sn islands at the interface of SiO2/Si layers implanted with Sn+ ions.

LOPES J M J; ZAWISLAC, M C; FICHTNER, PAULO F P; PAPALEO, R M; LOVEY, FRANCISCO; CONDO, ADRIANA; TOLLEY, ALFREDO JUAN

APPLIED PHYSICS LETTERS

American Institute of Physics

Año: 2005 vol. 86 p. 19191 - 19191

0003-6951

180 nm SiO2 layers on Si (100) were implanted with Sn ions producing a profile with a peak concentration of 3 at. % at the middle of the oxide. After high temperature (900–1100 °C) annealing, an array of beta-Sn islands epitaxially attached to the Si was observed at the SiO2/Si (100) interface due to the migration of the implanted Sn atoms. The breakdown of the planar SiO2 /Si interface and the appearance of the island system is discussed in terms of the Sn–Si equilibrium properties. Our results reveal a new method to create a high density of nanosized islands with good uniformity in size and shape.