Characterization of Nanocavities in Silicon Using Small Angle X-Ray Scattering

Abstract

The techniques of small angle X-ray scattering and transmission electron microscopy are applied to characterize the size distribution of nanocavities in a (111) Si wafer multi-implanted with He + in the MeV range energy. The comparison between both methods shows that they all give access to the same structural information but small angle X-ray scattering additionally offers the possibility to monitor the cavity size distribution during a thermal treatment. Moreover, providing that the collected data are of good quality, the former method also allows the knowledge of the porosity of the implanted Si wafer.