SPECTROSCOPIC CHARACTERIZATION OF ANNEALED SI1-XCX FILMS SYNTHESIZED BY ION-IMPLANTATION

Amorphous hydrogenated silicon carbon alloys were synthesized by C2H2 ions implantation in a silicon substrate at different fluences to obta in samples with different carbon atomic concentrations (10-50 at. %). As-implanted and subsequently annealed samples were investigated by us ing Rutherford backscattering, infrared, and Raman spectroscopies in o rder to follow the crystallization process, It was found that crystall ization of stoichiometric SiC phase starts at 1000 degrees C both in l ow and high containing carbon films, while at the stoichiometric compo sition silicon (or carbon) was found to clusterize into homonuclear is lands even at lower temperatures, The analysis of the fundamental abso rption edge reveals the presence of an optical energy gap of about 1.3 eV independently on the film composition in the as-implanted samples, while after the thermal process at 1000 degrees C it increases to 2 e V for a carbon concentration below 0.5 and up to 1.8 eV for all those samples with a carbon excess.