Helium bubbles in silicon: Structure and optical properties

Silicon samples were implanted with 20 keV He at various temperatures. The damage and the size of the He bubbles created during the implantation were measured with Raman spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Room temperature implantation with 2.5×1017 He atoms/ cm2 produced an amorphized layer with a high density of small voids (∼5 nm). After annealing at 923 K the amorphous layer was recrystallized, but still contained extended defects. The He bubbles coalesced forming large bubbles in the implanted region. Implantation at 723 K left the Si essentially crystalline, but with a large number of defects. The He bubbles created at this temperature were larger than after room temperature implantation. Light emitting properties of this porous material are briefly discussed.