The effect of annealing environments on the epitaxial recrystallization of ion-beam-amorphized SrTiO₃

Time-resolved reflectivity and Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy were used to investigate the effects of regrowth environments on the thermally induced solid phase epitaxial (SPE) regrowth of amorphous near-surface layers produced by ion implantation of single-crystal SrTiO₃. Water vapor in the regrowth atmosphere was found to alter both the apparent rate and activation energy of the SPE regrowth. For relatively dry atmospheres, a single constant regrowth rate is observed at any given temperature, and the activation energy is 1.2 ± 0.1 eV. When the concentration of H₂O vapor in the atmosphere is increased, however, the regrowth activation energy effectively decreases to ∼0.95 eV. When regrown in atmospheres containing H₂O vapor, the SrTiO₃ amorphous layer exhibits two distinct stages of SPE regrowth as compared to the single rate found for dry anneals. This two-stage process apparently results from the diffusion of H/OH from the regrowth atmosphere at the surface of the crystal through the amorphous layer to the regrowing crystalline/amorphous interface.