Role of the Ge surface during the end of range dissolution

We investigated the structure of end-of-range (EOR) defects in Ge and the role played by the surface during their dissolution caused by annealing. Ge samples were amorphized with Ge+ ions at two different energies (30 and 100 keV) in order to induce, after solid phase epitaxial regrowth, the formation of EOR band at different depths. High resolution x-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy showed that the EOR population consists mainly on small defects and few dislocation loops lying on < 001 > planes. The deepest EOR defects are more stable during thermal annealing demonstrating the role of the surface during their dissolution.