SHI effects on Ge+SiO2 composite films prepared by RF sputtering

Abstract

Ge+SiO2 composite films were deposited on Silicon substrate using RF magnetron sputtering. The asdeposited samples were irradiated with 150 MeV Ag+12 ions at a fixed fluence of 3×1013 ions/cm2. These samples were subsequently characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy to understand the crystallization behavior. Formation of Ge nanocrystal in amorphous silicon dioxide film was studied using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). We also studied the surface morphology of these high energy irradiated samples by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). The basic mechanism for ion beam induced crystallization in these films has been discussed. © 2011 American Institute of Physics.