Single and molecular ion irradiation-induced effects in GaN: experiment and cumulative MD simulations

An investigation of mechanisms of enhancement of irradiation-induced damage formation in GaN under molecular in comparison to monatomic ion bombardment is presented. Ion-implantation-induced effects in wurtzite GaN bombarded with 0.6 keV amu(-1) F, P, PF2, PF4, and Ag ions at room temperature are studied experimentally and by cumulative MD simulation in the correct irradiation conditions. In the low dose regime, damage formation is correlated with a reduction in photoluminescence decay time, whereas in the high dose regime, it is associated with the thickness of the amorphous/disordered layer formed at the sample surface. In all the cases studied, a shift to molecular ion irradiation from bombardment by its monatomic constituents enhances the damage accumulation rate. Implantation of a heavy Ag ion, having approximately the same mass as the PF4 molecule, is less effective in surface damage formation, but leads to noticeably higher damage accumulation in the bulk. The cumulative MD simulations do not reveal any significant difference in the total amount of both point defects and small defect clusters produced by light monatomic and molecular ions. On the other hand, increased production of large defect clusters by molecular PF4 ions is clearly seen in the vicinity of the surface. Ag ions produce almost the same number of small, but more large defect clusters compared to the others. These findings show that the higher probability of formation of large defect clusters is important mechanism of the enhancement of stable damage formation in GaN under molecular, as well as under heavy monatomic ion irradiation.