Auger Electron Spectroscopy and Rut herford Backscattering-Channeling Study of Silicon Nitride Formation by Low Energy N^(+)_(2)Ion Implantation

Direct nitridation of Si(100)surface by low energy N^(+)_(2)ion beam implantation at room temperature for differention doses and angles of incidence has been investigated by in-situ Auger electron spectroscopy and glancing Rutherford backscattering-channeling(RBS-C)measurements.The results show that with increase of N^(+)_(2)ion dose the N concentration in the Si surface increases and reaches to a surface stoichiometry close to that of Si3N4.The saturation dose and the thickness of the silicon nitride layer are related to the N^(+)_(2)ion energy.Complete nitride layer can be formed at incident angles of 0°-30°.At larger angles the degree of nitridation decreases and no nitride layer could be found at incident angles larger than 54°.The RBS-C results also suggest that a heavy damaged layer beneath the surface nitride layer can be formed due to ion beam implantation.