EFFECT OF N-IMPLANTATION ON MICROHARDNESS OF CHALCOGENIDE GLASSES( ION)

The paper reports a new study of the effect of N+ implantation on the microhardness of chalcogenide glasses Two glass systems, Ge-As-Se and Ge-As-Se-Te, were investigated. Results show that the microhardness of the glasses increased with increasing N+ ion dosage up to a level of 2.5 x 10(16) ions/cm(2). Further increases in the dose of Nc ions resu lted in decreases in microhardness Possible explanations were based on effects of compaction, structural defects, compressive stress and the thermal spike effect. By using the results of XPS spectra for a numbe r of Ar+ ion etching durations, the depth profile of implanted N+ ions has been suggested qualitatively. The position of the XPS peak for al l elements was found to shift to a higher binding energy after N+ ion implantation and/or with increasing etching duration. The highest valu es were shown at the depth at which the concentration of N+ ions was h ighest. This implies that there were some interactions between nitroge n and elements in the glass surface which probably led to the formatio n of nitrogen chalcogen(Se, Te) germanium (or arsenic) complexes and t hus increased hardness.