Analysis of materials processed by ablation plasma ion implantation

Summary form only given, as follows. Ablation plasma ion implantation (APII) utilizes laser ablation plasma plumes to implant metal ions into pulsed, negatively-biased substrates. Experiments have been performed in which plumes are ablated by a KrF excimer laser that generates 600 mJ pulses of 248 nm light of 25 ns duration. Ablation targets consist of pure iron pyramids that are rotated to spread the plume over a larger area. Substrates are silicon wafers which are biased to typical voltages of -10 kV for pulselengths of /spl sim/10 microseconds. Ion implanted films and substrates have been compared to laser deposited materials by HREM, cross-sectional TEM, XED, scratch tests and other techniques. APII results show a top Fe layer, an intermediate iron silicide layer with an underlying damage layer, which extends about 7 nm below the silicon substrate surface. These data agree with the results of the SRIM (stopping and range of ions in matter) code for an effective, maximum ion energy of 8 keV.