High-Resolution Radial Distribution Function of Pure Ion-Implanted Amorphous Silicon Measured Using Tilted-Illumination Selected-Area Electron Diffraction

Abstract High-resolution radial distribution functions of as-implanted and thermally relaxed amorphous silicon created by ion implantation were measured using tilted-illumination selected area electron diffraction at room temperature. The diffracted intensities were measured out to a maximum scattering vector 2 sin(θ)/λ of 3.3–3.7 Å⁻¹. The volume-averaged pair-correlation statistics of as-implanted and relaxed ion-implanted amorphous silicon are virtually indistinguishable with coordination numbers of 3.7 ± 0.3 and 3.9 ± 0.3 (for neighbors closer than 3 Å) and average bond angles of 109 ± 0.5° and 110 ± 0.6°, respectively. The atomic rearrangements in ion-implanted amorphous silicon due to a low temperature anneal are subtle.