In-cascade ionization effects on defect production in 3C silicon carbide*

Abstract

Understanding how energy deposited in electronic and atomic subsystems may affect defect dynamics is a long-standing fundamental challenge in materials research. The coupling of displacement cascades and in-cascade ionization-induced annealing are investigated in silicon carbide (SiC). A delayed damage accumulation under ion irradiation is revealed with a linear dependence as a function of both increasing ionization and increasing ratio of electronic to nuclear energy deposition. An in-cascade healing mechanism is suggested with a low threshold value of electronic energy loss (∼1.0 keV nm−1). The in-cascade ionization effects must be considered in predicting radiation performance of SiC.