Damage formation in high energy helium implanted 4H-SiC

Abstract He + ions were implanted in 4H-SiC at 1.6 MeV with fluences of 5 × 10 16 and 1 × 10 17 ions cm −2 . The damage induced by the implantation was studied using different techniques of microscopy along the length of the ion path. Conventional transmission electron microscopy was used to observe the buried amorphous layer. No bubbles were detected in the amorphous area for the lowest dose while a high density of small bubbles was observed for the highest dose. Between the surface and the highly damaged region, the local distribution of strains was determined using large angle convergent beam electron diffraction. Results are correlated to the nuclear energy losses profile.