Radiation defect dynamics in SiC with pre-existing defects

Abstract

The influence of pre-existing lattice disorder on radiation defect dynamics in SiC remains unexplored. Here, we use a pulsed ion beam method to study dynamic annealing in Ar-ion-bombarded 3C-SiC at 200 °C with different levels of pre-existing lattice disorder. Results reveal a nonmonotonic dependence of the defect relaxation time constant on the level of pre-existing disorder, exhibiting a maximum of ∼4 ms at a level of relative initial disorder of ∼0.4, while crystals without pre-existing damage are characterized by a time constant of ∼1.4 ms. These observations demonstrate that radiation defect dynamics in SiC can be controlled by defect engineering.