Damage Removal and Strain Relaxation in As⁺-Implanted Si_0.57Ge_0.43 Epilayers Grown by Gas Source Molecular Beam Epitaxy

The damage removal and strain relaxation in the As⁺-implanted Si_0.57Ge_0.43 epilayers were studied by double-crystal x-ray diffractornetry and transmission electron microscopy. The results presented in this paper indicate that rapid thermal annealing at temperatures higher than 950°C results in complete removal of irradiation damage accompained by the formation of GeAs precipitates which enhance the removal process of dislocations.