Microstructure of Ion Implanted Sapphire

The science of ion implantation technology is concerned with the modification of the near surface properties of a wide range of materials. The technique provides excellent control of implantation parameters such as dose range, energy of ion species and implantation temperature. Alpha-Al2O3 (sapphire) specimens were irradiated at room temperature (RT) and 1000 degree C to fluences of 1x10^17 B+/cm^2, 3x10^16 N+/cm^2 and 1x10^17 Fe+/cm^2 with 150 keV of energy. Following irradiation, the structures were examined using the transmission electron microscopy (TEM),Rutherford backscattering - ion channeling (RBS-C)spectroscopy, optical absorption measurements, x-ray diffraction (XRD) technique, and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The depth- dependent microstructures of the irradiated specimens, the energy deposited (elastic and inelastic) as a function of depth from the surface, the range of implanted species, and the defect production were modeled using the transport and range of ions in materials (TRIM) program.