Time constant of defect relaxation in ion-irradiated 3C-SiC

Journal Article · Mon May 18 00:00:00 EDT 2015 · Applied Physics Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4921471· OSTI ID:22402456

Wallace, J. B. ^[1]; Bayu Aji, L. B.; Kucheyev, S. O. ^[1]; Shao, L. ^[2]

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1. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550 (United States)
2. Department of Nuclear Engineering, Texas A and M University, College Station, Texas 77843 (United States)

Above room temperature, the buildup of radiation damage in SiC is a dynamic process governed by the mobility and interaction of ballistically generated point defects. Here, we study the dynamics of radiation defects in 3C-SiC bombarded at 100 °C with 500 keV Ar ions, with the total ion dose split into a train of equal pulses. Damage–depth profiles are measured by ion channeling for a series of samples irradiated under identical conditions except for different durations of the passive part of the beam cycle. Results reveal an effective defect relaxation time constant of ∼3 ms (for second order kinetics) and a dynamic annealing efficiency of ∼40% for defects in both Si and C sublattices. This demonstrates a crucial role of dynamic annealing at elevated temperatures and provides evidence of the strong coupling of defect accumulation processes in the two sublattices of 3C-SiC.

• OSTI ID: 22402456
• Journal Information: Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 106, Issue 20; Other Information: (c) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0003-6951
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
ANNEALING
ARGON IONS
CRYSTAL LATTICES
ION BEAMS
IRRADIATION
PHYSICAL RADIATION EFFECTS
POINT DEFECTS
PULSES
RELAXATION TIME
SILICON CARBIDES