Ion beam synthesis of narrow Ge nanocluster bands in thin SiO2 films

This paper reports on self-organization of narrow bands of Ge nanoclusters in thin thermally grown SiO2 layers by means of ion beam synthesis. Althoug h the implanted Ge profile is distributed over almost the whole SiO2, a del ta-like nanocluster band very close to, but well separated from the Si/SiO2 interface is formed under specific implantation and annealing conditions. The evolution of this band can be explained by a model taking into account collisional ion beam mixing and reactions near the Si/SiO2 interface, which is in good agreement with the experimental results.