Impact of He and H relative depth distributions on the result of sequential He+ and H+ ion implantation and annealing in silicon

International audienceSequential He++H+ ion implantation, being more effective than the sole implantation of H+ or He+, is used by many to transfer thin layers of silicon onto different substrates. However, due to the poor understanding of the basic mechanisms involved in such a process, the implantation parameters to be used for the efficient delamination of a superficial layer are still subject to debate. In this work, by using various experimental techniques, we have studied the influence of the He and H relative depth-distributions imposed by the ion energies onto the result of the sequential implantation and annealing of the same fluence of He and H ions. Analyzing the characteristics of the blister populations observed after annealing and deducing the composition of the gas they contain from FEM simulations, we show that the trapping efficiency of He atoms in platelets and blisters during annealing depends on the behavior of the vacancies generated by the two implants within the H-rich region before and after annealing. Maximum efficiency of the sequential ion implantation is obtained when the H-rich region is able to trap all implanted He ions, while the vacancies it generated are not available to favor the formation of V-rich complexes after implantation then He-filled nano-bubbles after annealing. A technological option is to implant He+ ions first at such an energy that the damage it generates is located on the deeper side of the H profile