Recent developments in the use of ion beams at Surrey

Recent results are summarised of projects aimed at extending the applications of ion beams. A detailed study of multi-energy implants of silicon ions in GaAs has been performed to quantify annealing kinetics and to improve our understanding of the mechanisms associated with the electrical activation process. We demonstrate how good quality ternary silicide layers are obtained by implanting cobalt prior to iron, followed by annealing at 1000°C. A plasma immersion ion implantation system has been developed and used to hydrogenate ion beam synthesised layers of β-FeSi₂, to produce improvements in photoluminescence. Finally, thin oxide layers on silicon substrates have been grown at temperatures as low as 600°C by implanting with fluorine ions prior to oxidation. The oxidation rate can be increased by up to 500% and allows significant improvements in thermal budget to be achieved.