Ion-Track Modification of a Silicon-Dioxide Film Implanted with Zinc Ions and Annealed in Oxygen

The formation of a zinc-oxide phase in a SiO2 film deposited onto n-type Si substrates grown in the (100) orientation using the Czochralski technique, which is a result of implanting 64Zn+ ions at room temperature, an energy of 50 keV, and a dose of 5 × 1016 cm–2, and subsequent heat treatment in an oxygen atmosphere at elevated temperatures, is studied. The surface topology is investigated using methods of scanning electron and atomic force microscopy. The optical properties are studied using the method of photoluminescence spectroscopy at 10 K and by measuring the light reflection spectra. After Zn implantation, a ZnO phase is detected in the subsurface layer of the SiO2 film. After low-temperature annealing in the range of 400–600°С, Zn-containing precipitates with a cross-sectional size of particles of 20–50 nm are found in the sample and on its surface. After annealing at 700–800°C, Zn-containing precipitates of the Zn·ZnO complex are formed in the subsurface layer, and a phase of the ZnO · Zn2SiO4 complex is found after annealing at temperatures of 900–1000°C. The samples obtained at the annealing temperature optimal for the formation of the ZnO phase (about 700°C) are irradiated with 132Xe26+ ions with an energy of 167 MeV. The ZnO phase is found to disappear after irradiation at a fluence of 2 × 1013 cm–2 and a large number of radiation-induced defects giving a characteristic photoluminescence band are formed. With an increase in the Xe fluence to 5 × 1014 cm–2, the intensity of this luminescence band increases.