Micro-mechanical Properties and Micro-structure of Ar~+ Ion Implanted Single-crystal Silicon

The nano-scratch behaviors of Ar+ implanted single-crystal silicon were investigated by a nano indenter system, the micro-structure of the implanted layer was analyzed with TEM. The results show that Ar+ implantation of single-crystal silicon increases the critical load, the best dose is 1×1016ions/cm2. The mixed structure of micro-crystal and amorphous silicon is formed on the surface of Ar+ implanted single-crystal silicon. This contributes to increasing the ability of plastic deformation and to increasing the fracture toughness of single-crystal silicon.