The depth profile of open volume defects has been measured in Si implanted with He at an energy of 20 keV, by means of a slow-positron beam and the Doppler broadening technique. The evolution of defect distributions has been studied as a function of isochronal annealing in two series of samples implanted at the fluence of 5ϫ10 15 and 2ϫ10 16 He cm Ϫ2 . A fitting procedure has been applied to the experimental data to extract a positron parameter characterizing each open volume defect. The defects have been identified by comparing this parameter with recent theoretical calculations. In as-implanted samples the major part of vacancies and divacancies produced by implantation is passivated by the presence of He. The mean depth of defects as seen by the positron annihilation technique is about five times less than the helium projected range. During the successive isochronal annealing the number of positron traps decreases, then increases and finally, at the highest annealing temperatures, disappears only in the samples implanted at the lowest fluence. A minimum of open volume defects is reached at the annealing temperature of 250°C in both series. The increase of open volume defects at temperatures higher than 250°C is due to the appearance of vacancy clusters of increasing size, with a mean depth distribution that moves towards the He projected range. The appearance of vacancy clusters is strictly related to the out diffusion of He. In the samples implanted at 5ϫ10 15 cm Ϫ2 the vacancy clusters are mainly four vacancy agglomerates stabilized by He related defects. They disappear starting from an annealing temperature of 700°C. In the samples implanted at 2 ϫ10 16 cm Ϫ2 and annealed at 850-900°C the vacancy clusters disappear and only a distribution of cavities centered around the He projected range remains. The role of vacancies in the formation of He clusters, which evolve in bubble and then in cavities, is discussed.

The interaction of helium atoms with the radiation damage imparted to (100) silicon single crystal by He+ implantation at 5×1015 cm−2, 20 keV, and liquid–nitrogen temperature is investigated by means of various complementary techniques during and after thermal treatments. Thermal programmed desorption was used to study the dissociation kinetics of helium from the defects and to plan suitable heat treatments for the other techniques. The helium profiles were determined by 8 MeV N2+15 elastic recoil detection, quantitative data on damage were obtained by channeling Rutherford backscattering spectrometry, double crystal x-ray diffraction, and positron annihilation spectroscopy. Isothermal treatments at 250 °C produce first helium redistribution and trapping in vacancy-like defects, rather than helium desorption from traps. The process is thermally activated with an effective activation energy, dispersed in a band from 1.1 to about 1.7 eV. For higher temperature treatments (2 h at 500 °C) the traps are almost emptied and at 700 °C all vacancy-like defects are annealed out. No bubbles or voids are observed by transmission electron microscopy, either in the as-implanted or in annealed samples.

Open volume defect profiles have been obtained by performing Doppler broadening measurements with a slow positron beam on p-type Si samples implanted near liquid nitrogen temperature with He ions at 20 keV and at 5×1015 and 2×1016 cm−2 fluence. The evolution of the defect profiles was studied as a function of isothermal annealing at 250 °C. The fraction of released He was measured by thermal programmed desorption. The defects could be identified as a coexistence of monovacancies stabilized by He-related defects and divacancies. The number of defects decreases for annealing time of a few minutes, then increases at longer annealing times. The mean depth of the defect profiles in the as-implanted samples was found to be very near the surface. After annealing, the mean depth increases to less than one half of the projected He range. This complex dynamics has been interpreted as due to passivation of vacancies by He during the implantation process and the first annealing step when no appreciable He is lost, and to subsequent depassivation during He desorption.

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