Nanoscale SiC production by ballistic ion beam mixing of C/Si multilayer structures

The ion beam-induced mixing process using Ar+, Ga+, and Xe+ ion irradiation has been used to form SiC rich layers on the nanometer scale at the interfaces of C/Si/C/Si/C multilayer structures. The SiC depth distributions were determined by Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) depth profiling and were compared to the results of analytical models developed for ballistic ion mixing and local thermal spike induced mixing. In addition, the measured SiC depth distributions were correlated to the Si and C mixing profiles simulated by the TRIDYN code which can follow the ballistic ion mixing process as a function of ion fluence. Good agreement has been found between the distributions provided by AES depth profiling and TRIDYN on the assumption that the majority of the Si (C) atoms transported to the neighboring C (Si) layer form the SiC compound. The ion beam mixing process can be successfully described by ballistic atomic transport processes. The results show that SiC production as a function of depth can be predicted, and tailored compound formation on the nanoscale becomes feasible, thus leading to controlled synthesis of protective SiC coatings at room temperature.