Lattice Strain and Strain Evolution in Hydrogen-Implanted Materials: The Roles of Mechanical Properties and Hydrogen Diffusion

Abstract

The strain introduced by the implantation of hydrogen into a material for subsequent exfoliation and layer transfer provides a useful monitor for the kinetics of the subsequent exfoliation process. We demonstrate that the level of strain induced by the implantation process, for a given dose, and at low temperatures, is determined by the energy loss per implanted ion by nuclear collisions, which, in turn, correlates strongly with the mechanical parameters such as the Young's modulus and bulk modulus. The magnitude of the dose linearly changes the maximum strain in the layer. At higher temperature implants, the maximum strain is reduced and is associated with the diffusion of point defects during implantation. These observations provide a means to predict the implant profile for any combination of implant dose, energy, and target material for parameters used for exfoliation processes at low temperatures. These results are also consistent with the literature that shows such a relationship for heavier ions at lower doses and for hydrogen implanted into semiconductors with different crystallographic orientation.