Surface modification of indium phosphide by 100 MeV iron ions

Abstract

Surface modification of indium phosphide (InP) irradiated with 100 MeV ⁵⁶Fe⁷⁺ ions for various ion fluences ranging from 5×10¹² to 2×10¹⁴ cm⁻²was studied using Raman scattering, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and atomic force microscopy. The shift in the Raman peak revealed the presence of stress in the irradiated samples. The average crystallite size obtained by analyzing Raman spectra with the phonon-confinement model decreased with ion fluence. The observed interference fringes in the Fourier transform reflectance spectra of irradiated InP indicate the presence of disorder and defects in the surface region of irradiated InP. The power spectral density obtained from Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) measurements showed the surface evolution due to diffusion process up to ion fluence 5×10¹³ cm⁻²; however, surface diffusion process was less dominant at higher ion fluences.

Keywords:

• swift iron ions
• indium phosphide
• Raman scattering
• FTIR
• AFM

Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful for the financial support received from IUAC, New Delhi, under the UFUP-35320 scheme and to the members of the Pelletron group for providing iron ion beam.