Epitaxial growth of silicon on silicon implanted with iron ions and optical properties of resulting structures

The method of ultrahigh-vacuum low-temperature (T = 850°C) purification of silicon single crystals having the (100) and (111) orientation and implanted with low-energy (E = 40 keV) iron ions with various doses (Φ = 1015−1.8×1017 cm−2) and subjected to pulsed ion treatment (PIT) in a silicon atom flow has been tested successfully. The formation of semiconducting iron disilicide (β-FeSi2) near the surface after PIT is confirmed for a Si(100) sample implanted with the highest dose of iron ions. The possibility of obtaining atomically smooth and reconstructed silicon surfaces is demonstrated. Smooth epitaxial silicon films with a roughness on the order of 1 nm and a thickness of up to 1.7 μm are grown on samples with an implantation dose of up to 1016 cm−2. Optical properties of the samples before and after the growth of silicon layers are studied; the results indicate high quality of the grown layers and the absence of iron disilicide on their surface.