Ar and B low-energy implants into a vicinal silicon surface: A molecular dynamics study

This study focuses on the basic processes occurring during surface irradiation at low energy and on their dependence on the structure of the irradiated surface. To this purpose, computer simulations of the type molecular dynamics (MD), with classical forces, are used to study implantation of Ar and B atoms, with a kinetic energy in the range from 5 to 30 eV, into silicon. The bombarded surface has a realistic vicinal structure and contains one step. The simulation indicates that the ion trajectory is either ended by reflection into vacuum or by implantation into a subsurface region. We analyze the dependence of these effects on the type of implanted atom and on the structure of the step.