Diffusion and gettering of implanted ions in YBCO films

Ion diffusion and gettering in YBCO oxides were studied, The experiment was carried out by implanting Si or Ni ions into epitaxial YBCO films and subsequently annealing the samples at different temperatures ranging from 450/spl deg/C to 1050/spl deg/C. Secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) analysis was used to determine ion profiles. At an annealing temperature of 750/spl deg/C, the silicon ions started to getter towards the peak of the silicon concentration, which has the maximum concentration. This gettering process continued annealing temperature was increased and reached the maximum at 850/spl deg/C. Further increases in annealing temperatures caused the ions to outdiffuse and intermix with YBCO. In contrast, nickel ions do not show gettering effect, rather they outdiffuse after annealing. The crystal damage caused by the implantation and chemical reaction between implanted ions and target material seemed to be the main reason of this gettering effect.