Use of surface Brillouin scattering to examine a structural phase transition in carbon-ion-bombarded silicon during high-temperature annealing

Surface Brillouin scattering (SBS) has been used to monitor a structural transition during high-temperature annealing of silicon previously bombarded at ambient temperature with 100 keV carbon ions with a fluence of 5 x 10(17) ions/cm(2). It was observed that a significant change of the Rayleigh surface wave Peak frequency occurred during annealing at 600degreesC; thereafter the frequency remained essentially constant to 900degreesC. Raman and SBS measurements of the sample after annealing and recooling to ambient temperature show that the significant change in the Rayleigh mode frequency results from recrystallization of the amorphous silicon layer near the sample surface produced by the ion bombardment. The work demonstrates the potential of SBS to study in situ the structural phase transitions of opaque materials.