EFFECTS OF PULSED IRRADIATION BY LOW-ENERGY IONS DURING HOMOEPITAXY OF SILICON FROM A MOLECULAR-BEAM

The change in the morphology of a Si(111) surface under pulsed irradia tion by 145-eV Kr+ ions with a pulse duration of 0.5 s during epitaxy of silicon from a molecular beam is studied experimentally by RHEED. I t is found that pulsed irradiation by low-energy ions intensifies the specular reflection. This corresponds to a decrease in the roughness o f the growing surface. It is shown that the observed effect depends st rongly on the degree of filling of the surface atomic layer, the subst rate temperature, and the ion current density. (C) 1996 American Insti tute of Physics.