Wave-ordered structures formed on SOI wafers by reactive ion beams

The dependence of wave-ordered structure (WOS) formation during low-energy ion bombardment of silicon upon the main experimental parameters (ion type, (e.g., N-2(+) or O-2(+)), ion energy, incidence angle and wafer temperatur e) and WOS formation dynamics have been studied. WOS in N-2(+)/Si system ar e uniform, stable and their wavelengths are on the order of nanometers. The geometry and internal structure of individual waves in the N-2(+)/Si syste m have been determined. We show that WOS formation on SOI using ion beams c an be controlled. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.